TED Talk: Jason Njorku, IROKO TV founder talks about failure in a society where it has been put aside as a source of shame and disgrace. He tells the story of his path of constant failure into success, here are his 5 truths about failure:
1) FAIL UNTIL YOU SUCCEED: We must fail all the way to success because without failure there is no success. It is rare that success comes at the first trial, failure enables us to correct and better our next attempt. IROKO TV was Mr. Njorku’s 11th venture!
2) FAILURE IS NORMAL: our society has turned failure into a shameful state but it only is if we don’t learn from it, get up and do better. That is what will gain us respect from our piers. Mr. Njorku had failed so many times in his previous ventures that he was freed from the fear of risk, he had nothing to lose so he could risk everything. Failure was just a way to get there.
3) CASH IN YOUR EMOTIONAL CAPITAL! When you fail, see it as deposit of experience for the next time you try. If you fail again, your deposit increases until you’ve failed enough and saved up enough of your strength and emotional capital to only be successful in your next attempt!
4) FAILURE IS FREEDOM: be honest about your failure! Yes I’ve failed…again, what can I do to NOT fail next time? This will free you from the “shame” of failure.
5) EMBRACE FAILURE, FORGET FEAR: whatever requires courage brings the biggest change. As Mr. Njorku has proven, Africa is not a scary place to venture and invest in. Failure is the worst thing that could happen until you realize that there is always tomorrow!
