Teaching the Value of Failure Today

 

Teaching-the-Value-of-Failure-Today

Teaching the Value of Failure Today

No one starts out wanting to fail. In fact, owing to the achievement-oriented nature of our society, the prospect of failure is one most people cannot stand and definitely try to avoid at nearly all costs. Many will even trade potential big long-term successes for immediate gains just to evade short-term failures.

I would like to challenge this notion and pose the questions:

Is this the right approach? Is failure bad? Should we be putting forth every conceivable effort to avoid failure?

I firmly believe the answer is no. Having an “always learning, entrepreneurial mindset,” which includes appreciating and teaching the value of failure, are central elements of my work as a cultural catalyst and global keynote speaker for educators and young leaders. I have reinvented myself and my profession at least three times. When failures present themselves as they inevitably do, I play it SAFE: State the problem, Assess the options, Fix the problem, and Evaluate the result (part of my flight training, and from my most popular breakout topic, The Pilot Mindset). Treating failure as an option can be beneficial in many ways, as you’ll see below.

While failing can be painful, it turns out that failure is actually good for the mind and our overall well-being. Whether for an entrepreneur striving to grow a business, an athlete aiming to win an upcoming tournament, or a student trying out a new extracurricular, failing can not only strengthen your character but is, in most cases, a tremendously valuable way to learn what it takes to be successful.

Thomas Edison is one of the most celebrated innovators of the 18th century. Edison had to try over 1,000 times before finally coming up with a working prototype of the light bulb. But, according to Edison himself, he would not have been successful without the 1,000 failures, which were really just steps along the way to success. He noted that every failure opened his eyes to something new; something he didn’t know initially, and thus was valuable for the learnings it offered. This way, when he finally succeeded, the light bulb was far superior to the ones he had been trying to make early on.

In the educational environment, the importance of teaching the positives of failure can be very important in the overall development of students so that they can best interact and impact our world in a positive way tomorrow. Treating failure as an option can also be beneficial in these additional ways:

Students learn not to quit or settle when a failure occurs

After a few failures, and the realization that the world didn’t end, there is just no giving up going forward. Students will learn to push on, adapt, and move forward no matter what. By teaching students to learn from setbacks, we give them life skills that will serve them well.

Students refine character traits

A major failure can help refine the ego. And, once egos are more properly balanced with strength and also sensitivity, students have a greater potential for future successes and for positive contributions to society.  The young person who is shielded from failure is unprepared for a world of change, upheaval, and significant competition.

Students begin to appreciate a sense of community

It’s easy to get lost in success. As well, surviving failures on your own, again and again, is nearly impossible. It is often in failure where we learn a sense of community as others reach out to us and support us. It is in failing that we receiving support and open ourselves to a community, enabling us to then offer support and community to others in their moments of failure.

Failure forces students to plan and improve

Very often, students give little thought or planning to their journeys.  For those who do give some thought to their goals, the majority of those tend to do it casually. Failures take us back to the starting line, forcing us to have moments where there can be self-reflection, evaluation, and the opportunity to look ahead with a plan that improves upon and is impacted by the lessons learned in the failure. Getting a trophy for showing up--as the millennials did--needs to be rebalanced by instituting an acceptance and appetite for failure.

Failure helps students appreciate time

The most successful people on earth are those who understand the value of time and invest their time wisely. Failing is one of the experiences that force persons to re-evaluate their use of time. As well, how it relates to how it contributed to a failure.  Students can learn the value of working ahead, preparing for exams, and putting in the needed effort ahead to ensure they are prepared at the time needed.

Failure helps students redefine their priorities

When a student fails, something unique happens. Students begin to redefine what matters most. There is a deeper reflection that can occur.  They have an opportunity to pause and think about areas of importance such as family, studying, education, and teamwork. Failure helps them discover these values and priorities. Unsurprisingly, once priorities are redefined, the path to future successes becomes more much clear.

Final Thoughts

As educators, instead of sheltering our students from failures, we have to expose them to failures. As a result, help them to learn to focus on how these experiences can benefit their future. Whenever someone stumbles, rather than letting their spirits be crushed by the occasion, let us help them understand how energies can be channeled through disappointments. If we can begin to see failure as a valuable and necessary learning tool, we will empower a new generation to rise to the highest heights of their potential.

Learn more about my keynotes and topics here.

The Future Requires an Entrepreneurial Mindset

 

The-Future-Requires-an-Entrepreneurial-Mindset

The Future Requires an Entrepreneurial Mindset

People with an entrepreneurial mindset are driven to innovate and create new opportunities regardless of whether or not they are entrepreneurs or employees. With this mindset, one can also make a positive impact in the world at the same time. The focus on innovation and the possibilities of “what could be” drives entrepreneurs in business and life.

Many lack the entrepreneurial mindset, which at the core requires a growth mindset, the acceptance of failure as a learning process, and the intrinsic value of helping others.  It is my belief that an entrepreneurial mindset is the hope for our future and will create a better world, and today’s education system needs to be infused with these collective ideas.

A Focus On Innovation And Building A Better Future

A simple definition of innovation is that it is a new method, idea, or product. Innovation is the driving force through much of humankind’s accomplishments. This includes every area of knowledge including the sciences, mathematics, healthcare, technology, arts, and more.

Fear of failure prevents many innovations, both large and small, from occurring. No great innovator in human history did so without a few missteps, do-overs, and outright failures. If great innovators gave up after their first failure, they would not have changed the world. The ability to see failure as a chance to learn and do better drives further accomplishments which lay the groundwork for a better tomorrow.  So, how do we help students grasp this in the classrooms of today?

This mindset needs to be taught in our education systems. Millennial leaders will inspire the goal of helping the world become a better place through innovation and entrepreneurship, but education must support this by focusing not just on achievement, but also encouraging and embracing failure (i.e. taking calculated risks). I believe that with adjustments in our educational philosophy to encourage this mindset, a new generation can be unleashed to lead with a goal of creating new businesses, organizations, and systems that help the world.

The Consideration Of Possibilities

The entrepreneurial mindset focuses on possibilities. It considers “what could be.” The current notion of "this is how education is" does not foster a better future; it perpetuates stagnation.

A society that never considers how it can change is one that never does. By considering the possibilities and striving to create positive change, we take the first step toward making change possible.   

Inclusiveness

Recognizing the unique talents and insights of each student is an essential part of building a better future.

Paying it forward and sharing your own good fortune drives further innovation. The entrepreneurial mindset not only fosters the ideas of inclusiveness, it also helps build a future where such ideas are further implemented.

It is this kind of thinking that I seek to help educators discover through my keynotes on the subject.  We need to disrupt education significantly, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss my ideas more with you with the hope to add value to your next conference or event.

Learn more about my keynote speeches. Contact me to set up a first step phone call today!

Education Shifts: Why STEAM over STEM is important

Education Shifts: Why STEAM over STEM is important
Photo by Alice Achterhof on Unsplash

Education Shifts: Why STEAM over STEM is important

Is the path for long-term success in life for students to concentrate on STEM subjects?  Is a focus solely on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) what is needed for tomorrow’s world of employment and leadership? It is true that some of the highest paying jobs for recent graduates currently are in STEM.

Or, will the future favor people with a more diverse skill set—one that an additional focus on the arts (STEAM) will provide?  Colleges and universities need to adapt to the upcoming changes in educational needs for the workforce of tomorrow or their students will be ill-prepared for the world and careers that will be available.  Let’s dive deeper.

The Impact of AI on Employment

Science fiction writers love to imagine that machines will take over virtually all human endeavors. In reality, many jobs requiring minimal skills have already been replaced by computers. According to an article by MIT Digital, artificial intelligence has the potential to eliminate or dramatically change many more human jobs in the next two decades.

One central concern is that employers will find ways to replace the inefficiencies of human workers and their demands for higher pay, vacation time, training, and retirement benefits. And if that happens, what happens to the workers?

What Does the Future Hold?

As companies grow their wealth by implementing technology that eliminates jobs, how will this impact society and the world? The potential exists for the world’s job market to shrink as AI continues to eliminate more jobs. Price Waterhouse Consulting concludes that 38% of jobs will be automated in the next 10-15 years.

With the shrinking job market, what will we do with the unemployed and underemployed? Will we need to initiate basic universal pay or lower the work week from 40 hours to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to work?  How will that go over in capitalist societies?

Most important, what is the incentive for future students to go to school if high-tech occupations are hard to come by? What is the role of education in a society of machine-operated companies and services?

What is Missing?  The Arts

The arts and humanities teach us to think critically, reason, and be creative. They also teach us one of the most valuable skills going forward: empathy—the key to cultural competency in a world of globalization. Creativity, understanding, and imagination are the underpinnings for collective thinking, business and political solutions, and understanding the world and its myriad of philosophies and cultures.

It can be dangerous to only focus through the microscope of technology. The world is evolving and changing quickly because of technology, but technology may not be the final answer.

Let’s Focus on STEAM

Reintroducing the “A” for Arts into education adds a renewed opportunity for the future of humanity. The arts help us to solve challenges and create solutions by reaching outside of technology’s narrow box of thought processes.

Learning about where music comes from—the rhythm and cadence of a dance—or the discipline and cultural influences of painting can broaden horizons. Exploring cultural influences in the fine arts can improve global relations and bring humanity into a more empathetic and peaceful bearing.

And Consider STREAM?

In this case, “R” is for recess. Recess is the time we break away from the rigors of classroom activity and focused work to let off steam and play. In a world that is seemingly on the brink of continuous conflict, a significant global recess could be just what is needed.

Humans are animals with underlying destructive tendencies. We have a need for physical activity to release stresses and anxiety. It is important that we allow these tendencies to exhaust themselves in activities like recess and school sports instead of coming out in less desirable ways.  What if this were given prominence as a mandated role of education instead of subjugating it to a lesser, voluntary participation role?

The Olympic Games are an example of a global recess. They allow world citizens to take a break and see what humans can accomplish simply through personal commitment and will.  Look at the positive sentiment, global collaboration, and world cooperation that takes place through such an event.

STEM or STREAM?

As Artificial Intelligence becomes more prominent in our lives, societies must evaluate what is important. How do we wish to live our lives? What are our values as nations and how should they be reflected in everyday life? Should we continue to encourage our youth to focus only on computer science and mathematics? I don’t think so.

Will we sacrifice the fruits of man’s imagination like art, theater, and music? Will we continue to make the mistakes of the past because history’s lessons are forgotten?  Let’s hope not.

It is time to reconsider education’s priorities.

I love to go deeper into this subject, it is one of my keynote specialties.  Learn more at https://raviunites.com/keynotes.

Millennials, AI & Education in 2018: Thoughts on the Future

Millennials, AI & Education in 2018: Thoughts on the Future
Photo by Billetto Editorial on Unsplash

Millennials, AI & Education in 2018: Thoughts on the Future

Here we are, one month into 2018. While each year we individually turn a page, it is sometimes hard to recognize the gradual evolution of society. We now have a large, young demographic increasingly assuming leadership roles, and a more diverse and open-minded population struggling to find its way amidst a political push for a more traditional social infrastructure. Social shifts are not rocket science; they are a pendulum swing that we have seen many times before.

The generational pendulum is swinging

What makes it different now is that the Baby Boomers were a big generation, X'ers are small, and Millennials are the biggest with Gen Z on track to be even bigger. The big-small-big-small generational pattern is being disrupted. I believe that rather than the pendulum swinging back and forth with each generation as it has in the past, it will now start to swing a wider path.

This will lead to more extremes that are both positive and negative. Millennial idealism will push a multicultural and border-less vision that will generate increasing pushback from boomers. But the younger voice will prevail to a degree where optimism may actually overshadow wisdom and nostalgia. They may, in fact, organically defeat most social injustices. On the other hand, radical ideology in all forms may escalate in opposition. We could see an increase in terrorism and racial divides, both nationally and abroad.

Changes in technology and the job market are coming

Technology and Artificial Intelligence are going to have an increased presence in our lives in 2018. The traditional job market in the short and midterm will consequently shrink. Entrepreneurial opportunities will blossom for those broadminded enough to recognize them.

A shrinking job market will work against the current USP (unique selling proposition) of education—"College and Career Ready." We must embrace the opportunity to find applications for newly available human capital. Let's figure out how to effectively teach entrepreneurship and innovation, which I believe means embracing a liberal arts education.

Education's responsibility in 2018 and beyond

The combination of all these forces gives education its greatest opportunity to positively impact the world. It must ramp up a proactive stance in 2018. Educators must prepare and empower students to create a more peaceful society. Particularly by teaching them data triangulation in order to eliminate the existence of destructive players like "fake news." Students must be taught to recognize entrepreneurial opportunities and capitalize on them in order to make peace profitable. The only thing standing in the way of world peace is war profiteering.

The most visible shift we will see in education during 2018 and beyond is the domination of the millennial generation and the impact they will have. Millennials will increasingly become parents, school board members, administrators, policymakers, and teachers.

The current teacher shortage must also be sufficiently addressed in 2018. We cannot simply expect cash-strapped millennials who want to make a difference but are saddled with student debt to all of a sudden find fulfillment in education. Society continues to undervalue educators. We seem to have a national anti-intellectual movement that surely will not help make America great again. We have a loud voice in America that effectively screams, “If you take away our guns, you take away our freedom.” In 2018, I’d like to hear an even louder voice scream, “If you take away our public education, you take away our freedom.”

Conclusion

I believe in Millennials, and believe the increasing impact they will have on education and society will be positive overall. Their proclivity for entrepreneurship and desire to have a positive and meaningful impact on the world will yield great results if the rest of us do one of two things: support their initiatives or simply get out of their way.

Happy New Year!