Keith JonesApril 15, 2016

I made a lot of progress on big projects the last few months. I can point to a few philosophies that are responsible for this. One is the tried and true “be consistent” approach. The other one is the newly embraced attitude, “Fail Fast and Fail Often”.

Whenever I made gains on goals in the past, it was by consistently working at it. No matter how uncomfortable, painful or frustrating it was, I kept at it. Even if I procrastinated getting started on it, I would get to it later that day and work on it. With “Fail Fast and Fail Often”, I understand that failure is a part of the process and that it should be embraced. It produces deep learning that often only comes from experience. And for the perfectionist in you, it moves you past the attitude that “everything has to be perfect” before you can get started or continue.

Here’s how to apply “Fail Fast and Fail Often” in your life:
1. Select a project, goal or skill you want to show significant progress on or exhibit mastery.
2. Define what progress and mastery mean for you. Set this as your end result.
3. Commit a certain amount of time per day to work on it. This brings in the consistency element. It’s key because you get better at your craft by working on it each day. You have to work on it over and over to improve to the highest level.
4. Outline what you need for your goal. If you don’t have all the tools, get started with what you have. For example, if you don’t have the latest software, use what you have. If you can’t go to school to learn the new skill, try to find it on the internet so you can get started now. YouTube is a great resource.
5. Start! Begin working on the goal and skill immediately.
6. “Fail Fast and Fail Often”. Know that you will make mistakes along the way. And that’s welcomed because it accelerates the learning process. Keep working on your goal and new skill often because repetition produces extraordinary progress.
7. Keep doing step 6 until you reach mastery.

I am currently applying the “Fail Fast and Fail Often” approach to video editing. I have never taken a course for this. All I have are online tutorial videos, my computer and video clips to produce the movie. Going in with the Fail Fast, Fail Often mindset makes the task of learning how to edit video at a high level achievable. Because failure is part of the journey and key to mastery, I look forward to working toward this goal.

I invite you to pick a goal or skill to master and apply this approach to everyday for the next two weeks. Commit 20 to 60 minutes to it. You will have more fun along the way and accomplish your objective faster.

Keith