One important thing to notice about successful people is that they tend to act quickly, even when they face failure. Speed of action often matters more than perfection.
In the book Art and Fear, artists Ted Orland and David Bayles share an interesting story about a ceramics teacher who conducted an experiment with his students.
The class was divided into two groups.
Students on the left side of the studio were graded based on quantity, while students on the right were evaluated based on quality.
The quantity group was told that grading would be simple:
Students who produced 50 pounds of pottery would receive an A.
Those who produced 40 pounds would receive a B, and so on.
For the quality group, grading depended on creating the best single piece during the semester.
Interestingly, when the semester ended, the teacher discovered something unexpected.
Students who focused on quantity showed greater technical and artistic improvement. By continuously producing pots, they experimented more, improved their skills, and learned from their mistakes.
Meanwhile, students in the quality group spent most of their time planning perfect pieces but produced very few works. Because of limited practice, their improvement was slower.
This story highlights an important principle: successful people move forward quickly, even if they fail along the way.
Instead of trying to avoid mistakes, they actively seek opportunities to challenge their skills and push their knowledge boundaries.
Feeling uncertain or unprepared is not necessarily a bad sign. In fact, it often means you are entering a growth phase.
In contrast, people who fear failure may interpret discomfort as a signal to stop, rethink everything, or spend more time planning before taking action.
Ask yourself a few questions:
When was the last time you achieved something you were proud of?
How did you feel at that moment?
Was it easy?
Did it require pushing beyond your comfort zone?
Did you make mistakes during the process?
If you reflect honestly, you will probably find that your biggest achievements came during periods when you struggled, learned from errors, and overcame obstacles.
Do It Poorly, Do It Quickly
Whether it is a performance, artwork, business idea, or invention, it is easy to believe that successful outcomes come from perfect execution.
However, reality tells a different story.
Most major achievements are built on hundreds of failures and experiments.
For example, experienced comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock often test thousands of joke ideas in small venues. Many of these attempts fail, but only the strongest material survives after multiple revisions.
Business innovation also follows a similar path.
The creation of Starbucks Corporation is a good example of learning through mistakes.
When Howard Schultz first developed Starbucks, the idea was inspired by Italian-style coffee shops. The early stores looked very different from today’s modern cafés.
Original designs included:
Baristas wearing ties
Italian-language menus that confused customers
Continuous opera music in the background
Limited seating
No low-fat milk options
Over time, thousands of experiments, customer feedback cycles, and design changes shaped the modern Starbucks experience.
Fast Failure for Fast Learning
In startup culture, this approach is sometimes called “forward failure.”
The idea is simple: launch early, collect feedback, and learn from real user behavior.
This mindset is common in innovative companies like Pixar Animation Studios.
According to its co-founder and president Ed Catmull, creative production moves from rough concepts to refined final products through continuous iteration.
The animation process often begins with rough sketches where many imperfect ideas are explored. Later, the team removes weak concepts and improves the strongest ones.
As director Andrew Stanton explains, the strategy is:
“Make mistakes as quickly as possible.”
The goal is not to avoid failure but to learn from it faster.
Creativity Requires Permission to Make Mistakes
If you work in any creative field, you must allow yourself to produce imperfect work.
Every person has creative potential because creativity appears in everyday problem-solving, planning, and decision-making.
In the book Bird by Bird, author Anne Lamott explains that writing often starts with a bad first draft.
The purpose of the first draft is not perfection but progress.
Most writers do not fully understand their story until they actually start writing.
This idea reflects the philosophy of fast experimentation.
You cannot predict:
How something will look
How you will feel about it
What results it will produce
Until you start doing it.
Final Thoughts
Losing is not always a negative experience.
Failure is often a learning mechanism that helps you improve, adapt, and grow.
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