Hank Aaron hit 755 home runs, and he also struck out well over a thousand times. Reggie Jackson, Mr. October himself, struck out more than anyone in the history of the game. Nobody remembers those strikeouts. We remember the swing, because you cannot become a top performer unless you are willing to step up to the plate and risk missing.

This episode is my case for taking the shame out of failure. Failing at something does not make you a failure. It means an experiment produced an outcome you did not want, and you are still on the path. Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm, and rainbows only follow storms.

I walk through some stories you may know only from the highlight reel. Michael Jordan cut from his high school varsity team. Tom Brady waiting until the sixth round of the draft. Oprah Winfrey told she was unfit for television. Colonel Sanders hearing no over and over in his sixties. I also share Denzel Washington’s charge to fall forward, and a few of my own stumbles, including a California real estate exam I did not pass until my fourth try.

I care about this because every form of poverty beyond food, shelter and health care is a mindset. A generation that has never been allowed to fail will be rattled by the first real storm. I want you built for it. God made you to win, and a setback is information, never a verdict on who you are.

🎧 Listen now — wherever you get your podcasts, or simply click below.

Prefer to watch? The full episode is on YouTube.