Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success

John C. Maxwell is truly inspiring. His leadership teachings are powerful, easy to understand, and motivating. Every message encourages growth, confidence, and becoming a better leader in life.

How important is failing in life and how to learn from your failures.We should never be afraid to fail if we aspire to achieve our goals. Failures are the stepping stones to achieving what we want in life.Must read for everyone

The other day, I was just thinking that, whenever I can get out of my own way, I'd write a book about my experience... and I'd call it "Failing Forward". Then I thought, "I wonder if anyone else wrote a book with that title?" So glad I saw and began to read this!I won't go into my own past history. Let's just say that I had been in a self-preservation cycle for a long time and I didn't know why I was doing what I was doing. I thought that I needed more training and that would help? But admittedly, I've been exposed to some of the greatest mentoring and training in my entire industry... and it didn't change me. I know it's not information that I'm missing, but some form of motivation... and for some reason I wasn't "getting out of my own way".I began to devour this book! This book showed me why I was doing what I was doing... how it wasn't helping me, and what the path is! It's also great to know that I have this roadmap of how to bounce back from future failure experiences (or just setbacks) so I can "bounce back" far quicker and easier in the future! (It would be naïve to believe that I wouldn't suffer another set-back again.)I have this great feeling of peace and resolution in my heart. I feel that I really CAN move forward and not self-sabotage myself back into a self-protection mode.I was told many of these things before, but being told and being taught are two different things. This book... taught me in such a way that I could hear and internalize the message.I had never read a John C. Maxwell book before... but I will be checking out his other titles!THANK YOU!

I was a little skeptical when I started this book, thinking it might be too corny, but I liked this book more than not. It was a soft easy read, good for when you are at an airport or on a subway. And it served as a bit of a gentle kick in the butt for me after a couple of rough weeks at work. The examples of the colossal failures and set backs of people such as Handel, the guy who came up with New Coke, St. Paul the Apostle, Mary Kay, and others were very interesting. But at times it was too cliche and simplistic ("When you make mistakes, don't let them get you down."), but often they resonated with me ("Failure is simply a price we pay to achieve success."). I especially liked the stories, examples, and ancient quotations. The middle chapters were too corny, with overly simplistic exercises. The later chapters were back on track, but the steps to achieve success started to become repetitive. I think I would recommend this for both young adults struggling with their first academic or work set backs AND experienced and jaded workers who need a reminder that set backs and failures often preceed success if you find a way to readjust your attitude and get back in the game. PS, reading this book prompted me to re-read Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning."

This book changes as your life changes. The words it expresses give meaning to a lot of the things that happen in your life, if you allow it to. Great read!

I began reading this book wondering why a mentor of mine suggested that I read it in the first place. I began the first few pages with the attitude of "yeah, yeah, yeah...I know all this stuff already...my Mentor obviously has no clue who I am." I kept reading, then the note taking began...big-time. Hahaha...oh the humility I thought I possessed.We have all heard the cliches before. The ones like, "we learn from our mistakes", etc. Yet, do you have an action plan in place for truly learning and moving forward? I didn't, but I do now. "Failing Forward" is not a collection of simple-minded cliches that only people in woo-woo land will relate to. "Failing Forward" is a fantastic read, which if you have the courage to admit your own failures in Life...and you have them...then this book will assist you focus on the benefits of failures, moving along a path to ultimate success in your endeavors. Just remember this...you must be willing to accept responsibility for your own actions and take ownership of your failures...meaning, stop blaming others. If you insist on partying it up at the local "Look at what Life has done to me" ale house, then don't bother reading this book, you are too weak to handle reality. On the other hand, if you wish to hone your skills in the realm of taking a Leadership role in your own path of Life, then buy this book...it is a must read.I'm giving this book 5 stars because of the actions I am taking along my Life path from reading "Failing Forward"...yeah, it has had a sustained impact. Oh, and I'm giving the Mentor who told me to read the book five stars as well. Good call, Chris.

The book Failing Forward truly changed my perspective on the way that I perceive a failure. As the book states, it is very easy to fail backwards meaning that you blame others for the mistakes that you made, and you plan to never fail again. This is how I use to be before reading this book. Now when I fail, I fail forward. This means that I know that failure is just a part of the progress towards my goal. I will learn from my mistakes, and I will take all of the credit for the past failure. I will continue to look towards the future by taking new risks, and I will expect to fail again. I know that failure is unavoidable, but that is all apart of the journey that I will need to take to succeed.In the past, I had a short temper with others whenever I did something incorrectly. I often did not even speak to people when I made a mistake. After reading this book, I know now to learn from my errors and control my temper. Having a bad attitude will only make maters worse. That being said, the state of being content is what everyone should strive for. Do not dwell on past mistakes, but continue to pursue your goal even if you think you are past the point of no return. A great example that is currently happening in my life is a company that I own in a business simulation for my class. The program is Global DNA and the company that I own is Baldwin. In the first three years of the organization, our group was in second place, but in the past two years, we have seen a constant decrease in our stock price. I was extremely upset about this because this group company was a grade. I wanted to give up, but after reading this book, I know that I need to learn from my past mistakes, and I need to continue to do my best. Another important piece of information is to not be afraid to change your mind. In my company, we were selling products with extremely high accuracy and low speeds, but in the next three rounds, we will sell our product with equal speed and accuracy because that is what the market is demanding. If this fails, I know to not be embarrassed, and I will learn from my mistakes.

Absolutely love this book. His style is easy to read and he keeps you captivated. Lots of logic and reason. Anyone would benefit from reading this

The book reminds you to keep going and keep trying until you get to where you want to be. Dare to do.

This book is a funny loving jam packed powerful book .it really helped me get over myself and the fear I had about failure. This book helped me realize that the successful people fail and keep moving ! Read this book with friends family at work and anywhere.

I put this book right after the book “Grit” by Dr. Angela Duckworth. Really amazing and life changing book. Read it if you want to overcome any failure or you want to have a new definition of failure. I regret not reading this book early, even though it was lying in my bookshelf for quite a long time. The only bad thing about this book I find is: the initial 2 chapters seem mediocre with old overused one-liners. Please get some fresh words. Thanks.

This is the traits of all world class athletes and businessmen

Great reviews of successful people who never gave up no matter how many times they failed. Super eye opener of seeing failing in a different perspective. Ready to always fail forward