For some reason, many times I catch myself not taking an action for fear that I might not get what I want, for fear of being rejected or laughed at. Then, I fail because of my inaction, rather than action. It happens over and over. So therefore, sometimes I find it extremely beneficial to couch the projected end result in terms of complete total failure (as in, the mission was not accomplished).
I ask myself “Seriously, if I failed miserably at this, how bad can it be?”. More often than not, the answer is “I will still have my arms and legs”. So it’s really not that bad at all. And I go do it. And if I do fail, I will have no regrets because I failed by action, and not inaction. Yes, I’m a person of action. I will not look back and say, “See, you shouldn’t even have tried”.
At my hockey practice with my buddies, we usually cheer when one of us fall and crash hard on the ice during practice. It’s actually pretty funny, because someone usually yells “.. AND HE’S OK!!” (insert scene from Austin Powers where mini-me falls and then gets up OK) It’s our way of reminding each other that “Hey, you did good, and you are learning! Keep on doing it!” And the truth is, when learning to skate, if you aren’t falling, then you’re not trying hard enough. I have completely let go of the notion of “not crashing”.
I’m going for breakthrough improvements. Little incremental improvements over time are ok, but not fast enough for my tastes 
When I’m passionate about something, I push myself to attempt something that scares me, which usually result in me falling down. Fail fast, recover fast. No pain no gain (yes, that was a complimentary worn out cliché).
And with a mentality like that, I admire those _still_ around me. Thank you for putting up with me, and helping me in one form or another, with your words of wisdom. For those those who didn’t like or agree with the way I see things, I’m glad we parted ways because I am a product of the people around me and I too, wouldn’t want to be around birds from a different flock! Not to say that I’m always right, but I acknowledge my mistakes (and attempt corrective measures) when they are pointed out to me.
No one wants to fall short or be laughed at. What will happen to you if you try and do not succeed? The same thing that has happened to pretty much every successful person in history. You will get up and try again. Then you will probably fail again at some point in the future, yet continue to persist through setbacks. Every failure offers valuable lessons that you can’t learn any other way.
– Dave Lorenzo, author of Career Intensity
