Failure is Necessary | Courtney Johnson | TEDxEvansville

TEDx Talks

29 Nov 201806:01

Summary

TLDRIn this inspiring talk, the speaker recounts their fear-conquering skydiving experience, symbolizing the courage to face and overcome personal fears. They emphasize the importance of embracing failure as a learning opportunity, drawing from their own entrepreneurial journey and founding a non-profit. The speaker encourages the audience to confront their fears, whether it's writing a book, starting a podcast, or pursuing higher education, and to give themselves permission to fail as a means to grow and succeed.

Takeaways

😨 The speaker was nervous and scared before skydiving, reflecting on the option to turn back home.
⏰ The decision to continue was made after two hours of internal debate while driving and on the airplane.
🚀 The fear of failure was a driving force for the speaker to confront their fears by doing something terrifying like skydiving.
🤔 The speaker questioned their decision to jump from the plane, comparing it to the comfort of being at home.
🎯 The purpose of the skydiving experience was to face and overcome the fear of failure.
🙌 The speaker encourages the audience to raise their hands if they've been afraid to fail, showing it's a common fear.
📈 Failure is presented as an important part of life and a necessary step for growth and learning.
💡 The speaker shares personal stories of failure, such as in theater and starting a non-profit, to illustrate the value of overcoming fear.
🚀 The speaker's skydiving experience symbolizes the act of taking risks and the importance of facing fears.
💪 The message is to give oneself permission to fail and to not let the fear of failure prevent one from trying.

Q & A

What was the speaker's emotional state before driving to Elizabethtown, Kentucky?
-The speaker was nervous and scared, and didn't get any sleep the night before.
Why was the speaker considering turning back while driving to their destination?
-The speaker was contemplating turning back because they were nervous and scared, and they felt they didn't have to go through with what they were about to do.
What significant event was the speaker about to participate in?
-The speaker was about to participate in skydiving from an airplane at 10,000 feet.
Why did the speaker decide to go through with the skydiving despite their fear?
-The speaker decided to go through with the skydiving to confront their fear and to follow their tradition of facing something they are terrified of doing.
What is the speaker's philosophy on failure?
-The speaker believes that failure is an important part of life, a way of learning, and a means to grow. They encourage embracing failure as a learning opportunity.
How does the speaker relate the fear of failure to their own life experiences?
-The speaker relates the fear of failure to their own life by sharing their struggles with theater and starting a non-profit, emphasizing that overcoming fear is crucial for personal growth.
What advice does the speaker give to the audience regarding failure?
-The speaker advises the audience to give themselves permission to fail and not to be afraid of failing, but rather to be afraid of not trying at all.
What is the main message the speaker wants the audience to take away from their talk?
-The main message is that it's important to confront and face one's fears, to not let the fear of failure hold you back, and to learn and grow from failures.
Why did the speaker mention their experience with starting a non-profit?
-The speaker mentioned their experience with starting a non-profit to illustrate how they overcame their fear and followed their calling, despite being terrified.
What does the speaker suggest as a way to deal with the fear of failure?
-The speaker suggests taking risks, facing fears, and embracing failure as a way to learn and grow, which helps in dealing with the fear of failure.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Facing Fears: Skydiving Experience

The speaker recounts a personal experience of skydiving from 10,000 feet, highlighting the initial nervousness and the internal struggle with the fear of failure. Despite the option to back out, the speaker decides to confront the fear, drawing parallels to other life challenges such as public speaking and entrepreneurship. The narrative emphasizes the importance of taking risks and learning from failures, as it is an integral part of personal growth and success.

05:04

💪 Embracing Failure as a Learning Opportunity

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker encourages the audience to not let the fear of failure deter them from pursuing their goals. The speaker advocates for a mindset shift where failure is viewed as a necessary step towards growth and learning. The talk ends with a call to action, urging everyone to give themselves permission to fail and to not be afraid of the attempt, as the true measure of success lies in how one responds to failure.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Fear

Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat or danger. In the video, the speaker confronts their fear of skydiving as a metaphor for facing other fears in life. The speaker's nervousness before the jump illustrates the physical and emotional aspects of fear, and the decision to proceed despite fear underscores the theme of overcoming obstacles to personal growth.

💡Skydiving

Skydiving is the activity of jumping out of an aircraft and free-falling through the air before deploying a parachute. It is used in the video as a dramatic example of facing and overcoming fear. The detailed description of the skydiving experience, from the initial nervousness to the final jump, serves to highlight the speaker's personal challenge and the exhilaration of conquering fear.

💡Failure

Failure is the inability to achieve a desired outcome or the falling short in some endeavor. The video emphasizes that failure is a natural part of life and a critical component of learning and growth. The speaker's own experiences with failure, such as forgetting lines in a theater performance, are used to encourage the audience to embrace failure as an opportunity for learning rather than something to be feared.

💡Risk

Risk is the potential for loss or injury, often associated with the chance of something going wrong. The video discusses the importance of taking risks, even when there is a possibility of failure. The speaker's decision to skydive, despite the fear and potential danger, exemplifies the willingness to take risks as a means to overcome fear and achieve personal goals.

💡Learning

Learning is the process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, or understanding. The video suggests that failure is not the end but a stepping stone to learning. By analyzing mistakes made during failure, individuals can grow and improve. The speaker's narrative of starting a non-profit organization despite fear illustrates how learning from past failures can lead to success.

💡Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an individual who organizes and operates a business, taking on financial risks to do so. In the video, the speaker identifies as a young entrepreneur, highlighting the role of risk-taking and resilience in the entrepreneurial journey. The mention of starting a non-profit serves as an example of entrepreneurial spirit applied to a social cause.

💡Non-profit

A non-profit organization is a group that operates for a purpose other than making a profit, often focusing on social or community needs. The video references the speaker's founding of a non-profit in Indiana, which underscores the theme of overcoming fear to achieve a meaningful goal that contributes to society.

💡Confront

To confront is to face or deal with something, especially a problem or difficult situation, directly and courageously. The speaker's decision to skydive is an act of confronting their fear of heights and the fear of failure. This action is presented as a way to challenge and overcome personal limitations.

💡Permission

Permission in this context refers to giving oneself the authority or freedom to take action. The speaker encourages the audience to give themselves permission to fail, suggesting that self-imposed restrictions often hold people back from trying new things. The concept is tied to the broader message of embracing failure as a part of the learning process.

💡Bounce back

To bounce back means to recover quickly from a setback or misfortune. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of resilience after failure. The idea is that everyone will fail at some point, but what truly matters is the ability to recover and continue pursuing one's goals, as illustrated by the speaker's own experiences.

Highlights

The speaker shares their anxiety and fear before a skydiving experience, reflecting on the option to turn back and the decision to face their fears.

Despite the fear and temptation to return home, the speaker embarks on a skydiving adventure to confront their fear of failure.

The speaker describes the physical sensations of skydiving, including the increasing altitude and dropping temperature, adding to the tension of the narrative.

A surprising confession from the instructor, who also admits to being nervous, despite his experience, highlights the universality of fear.

At 10,000 feet, with the door open, the speaker grapples with the decision to jump, symbolizing the moment of truth in facing fears.

The speaker's internal dialogue about the rationality of skydiving versus the comfort of their bed underscores the struggle with fear.

The decision to jump is framed as a metaphor for confronting fear and the importance of overcoming the fear of failure.

The speaker establishes a personal tradition of facing a new fear each year to manage and mitigate the fear of failure.

An interactive moment where the speaker asks the audience to raise their hands if they've been afraid to fail, creating a shared experience.

The assertion that failure is an integral part of life, and that everyone has failed at something, normalizes the experience of failure.

The speaker's own experiences with failure, such as in theater, are shared to illustrate the learning opportunities that come from failure.

The founding of a non-profit organization is presented as a significant achievement that was only possible through overcoming fear.

The speaker encourages the audience to think of their own fears and not let the fear of failure prevent them from pursuing their goals.

A call to action for the audience to give themselves permission to fail and to view failure as a learning opportunity.

The conclusion of the talk emphasizes the importance of trying and learning from failure rather than fearing it.

The speaker ends with a powerful message to not be afraid of failure but to be afraid of not trying at all.