"I try to protect my kids from failing every inch along the way, but I've learned that all the best lessons in life come from failure."
The other day, I came across this quote. And I'm not afraid to let you know that for every moment that I consider success, I also find myself thinking about failure. How it may happen, the ramifications, what I can do to prevent it, and so on. As an entrepreneur, I'm confident in my ability to recover and move forward from any setbacks, regardless of how deeply they may impact my plan of action, my wallet, and even my ego. As a father, however, I occasionally find myself struggling with the thought that my children will have to face the same challenges. The love I have for my children feels boundless at times. I want them to live happy, fruitful lives that they can be proud of. I want them to succeed in their careers, lives, and all their endeavors. And one day, I hope they can experience the love of parenthood with the blessing of their own children.
When I look at my now-adult kids, I vividly remember what it was like to hold them in my arms when they were babies and the primal instinct to always want to protect them. Few things in life are more precious. But I learned over time that when they tripped, they happily pulled themselves back up and continued to explore how it feels to walk for the first time. When they were teenagers and missed the mark on the grade they'd hope to receive, they realigned and refocused on the next upcoming academic achievement they could shoot for.
For ourselves, our children, and our business objectives, we cannot prevent the anguish of failure, no matter how hard we may try. Life is a nonlinear experience that we have little control over. But we can remain focused on an important facet of life: failure is a part of the journey, not a pain to be avoided. We learn far more from these moments than we do in times of success. In fact, to attempt to shield ourselves or our children would be the biggest failure of them all. In times of feeling overprotective, I remind myself of this: all of my hopes for my children are achievable through these moments of failure, and they all eventually lead towards the celebration of success.
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