Today on the chalkboard I have written a quote by Herman Melville (author of Moby Dick) that celebrates the important idea of always being willing to try something new creatively (and fail better doing so).
It got me thinking about originality, and what it truly means to succeed or fail. The rest of the quote from Melville actually says even more about failure being the measure of a man or woman.
It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation. He who has never failed somewhere, that man cannot be great. Failure is the true test of greatness. And if it be said, that continual success is a proof that a man wisely knows his powers, – it is only to be added, that, in that case, he knows them to be small.
-Herman Melville
That focus on learning from our mistakes immediately reminds me of this famous Beckett quote that gets readily traded around Silicon Valley like a new crypto:
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
-Samuel Beckett
In truth, I love this Beckett quote and what it is saying. And as a writer I love his composition. It is lean, lyrical and to the point. But I’m a bit miffed that the Tech Bros have co-opted Samuel Beckett to reframe their mistakes this way. There is also a bit of irony there when you consider many successful Silicon Valley products are imitations (e.g. Instagram Stories, YouTube Shorts)
That all said, don’t get me wrong. There is, of course, oodles to learn from our failures, but with the proliferation of this “fail better” thinking, I believe the value of learning from our successes is starting to get overlooked.
Why not look at what works and build on it (or, dare I say it, occasionally repeat it). This is all easier said than done, given the nuance of any given project. But I think it might be time to set aside this “fail early, fail often” approach, and maybe take a look at an “Ever succeed. Succeed again” approach to work.
In this day and age of manifesting and positive mindsets, this feels like a more contemporary way to look at things (without falling into the trap of believing that any success is easy to replicate). But there is an equally valuable lesson to be learned.
The greatest lesson in life is not failure but learning what to do with success
– William Faulkner
The more I think about it, I believe there is wisdom in both approaches. There is no reason why both cannot coexist and work in tandem. I love the idea of failing in originality, and equally if the result of your efforts are successful, then try to understand why and go/grow from there.
It is possible to be original and successful without imitation. And, most importantly, to learn from it all.
Celebrate what you’ve accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed
– Mia Hamm
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