Failure and saving what we love ..

Earlier this week, I went to the theatre and saw, “StarWars: The Last Jedi”. This was my second time to see this movie. I always see Star Wars movies multiple times. I loved this episode! 

Warning: if you have not seen the movie, this blog post contains spoilers. 

There are two lines in the movie that every leader should adopt. The first comes from Master Yoda. Luke was struggling with his own humanity and failure. He was facing his failure with Ben Solo, and his inability handle teaching Rey. As he was trying to destroy the Jedi Temple Yoda appears as a force ghost. He ultimately says, “The greatest teacher, failure is.” 

Failure is a powerful teacher. Sadly, many leaders are so focused on the failure that they miss the opportunity to learn and grow. Learning from failure does not mean being sloppy. When you fail, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, learn from the failure, and move on. When leaders adopt this mentality, employers can take more, measured risk, and be more innovative. It’s a powerful mindset, and companies that adopt this view on failure can be faster, and far more creative. 

Even Luke learned from failure. He put himself in a position to save the small band of rebels and make his apparent failures into a positive.  

The second quote came after Rose saves Finn from certain death. Finn runs to her side, and ask why she would do this self-less act. She responds,  “That’s how we’re going to win. Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love.” 

When I taught obiednence classes to dog owners, I would teach this principle all the time. Focused on the positive, on the behavior we love. This principle works with children, employees, politics, and in all aspects of life.  

Have a great week!

~ Rick