Added: 1 year ago
From: dereksivers
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  • amazing!

  • well you could learn from others failures to.

  • I was skeptical when I saw it (it's tiring to see failure so glorified everywhere), but the video was really good. I just don't like the word "failure". If it's an experiment, if it's to learn, it's not a failure!

  • I LOVED IT!

  • Outstanding. I'm buying the books he mentions.

  • @ruthexpress As am I!

  • I watched this in Spanish (we were afraid of making errors our first day) and ended up with a new years resolution: Don't be afraid to fail! It's probably one of the hardest fears to overcome but it's worth a shot. Thank you :)

  • "Parents, pay attention here", nice one !

    Very good stuff, I agree and even enjoyed this :-)

  • Thank you!

  • Very interesting. A lot of the points made are covered in Carol S. Dweck's book "Self-Theories"

  • Doing what you know is... Fun?

    Wat.

    As I don't agree on this fact, I'm just gonna assume that I already know how to teach myself things, dohoho.

  • Well when I have received praise from people on my artwork or skill I've always told me that my God had blessed me and d this skill is not mine and it can be lost anytime. I also tell people that i worked hard for this skill and after being out of college because i failed to move on I kept on that same path but made changes to how i could get to my goal

  • this sounds exactly like something from WNYC RadioLab

  • I am a Proud Procrastinating Perfectionist.

  • this video is great, you must have failed a lot while making it!

  • So inspiring . Invites my mind to fly free . Priceless stuff . Can`t wait to check your theory.

  • Thank you, Derek.

  • Derek, This is a great video for anyone starting a news business to watch, and also for experienced entrepreneurs who have begun "coasting" instead of continuing to grow. Thanks for creating and sharing this.

  • Very motivating! I've added it to my 'keep watching again n again' playlist! :-)

  • The ceramics class story is awesome :D

  • This really motivated me and opened my mind. I will share it to all my fellow because it is a good video.

  • The story about the clay pots reminds me of a chapter in Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird". The chapter is called "Shitty First Draft". Well worth reading.

  • this explains why I failed to fail these past two years

  • I have used this strategy to ace many tests. Before the test all I do is a ton of practice problems, I make mistakes, then learn what I did wrong and redo the problem correctly. The problem is most students are not taught a learning technology of how to deal with and view mistakes. Unfortunately most fall into the trap of believing mistakes are bad and should be avoided.

  • I've heard about the praising children for effort rather than for..no reason. I think it's a very important aspect that many people overlook. I'm struggling to develop my illustration skills, and while many common people around me tell me that i have talent, any artistic person that went through this journey would say that i need to study more and work constantly. Bottom line, praise the internet. :) Without it i would have been stuck in a closed circle of close minded people.

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  • Failures are the biggest teachers been taught that thing so many times but this just finally hammered it so thank you.

  • Fantastic. I was never fascinated by the success of others. But their failures and challenges on their roads to success. I knew I had to fail to success. THere is a saying: "Failure is the mother of all success". In my younger days, I used this to comfort myself in self-pity mode. Now, I know its true meaning.

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  • Thank you so much for the video Derek. I watch it for inspiration

  • Great insight. Thx for the video!

  • I got a slightly subtler problem for you, Mr Sivers.

    Just yesterday, I was informed (after 1.5 years of review) of mixed results on a paper I submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed math journal. 3 referees:

    1+ (recommends acceptance), 1 - (recommends rejection), 1 moderate (recommends acceptance after revision).

    Have I failed or not? I'd have a preferred a clear unanimous YES or NO from all 3. It feels like a hollow "victory" because now things will just drag out.

  • @nahaymath A unanimous rejection would have meant I could simply start all over from a clean state and prove even stronger theorems from the ground up, rather than having to worry about chopping to ribbons what I already submitted and worrying whether I'm changing too much for them, requiring them to read all new proofs.

  • Famous successful people... yet I recognize none of them.

    Are they ninjas?

    Fail.

    If not... still FAIL.

  • @TrollingWithFlames

    LMAO. EPIC WIN!

  • That Picasso painting sucked.

  • Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement. We know the drill :P

  • thank you derek, this gave me a lot to think about

  • Derek,

    Just want to say, thank You!

    I got some mind set problems bother me for years.

    I think i got it clear because of you.

  • Hilarious that he mumbles "I'm Picasso, I can do better". Completely contradicts what he is saying.

  • @EightAlek I'm curious to your logic here. You could be painting your own art and say "I'm EightAlek, I can do better!" and make changes, and this would be a great example of you showing the growth mindset.

  • I like the last word so much.. "if you are not failing, you are not trying hard enough"

  • @TianFangXingYue Sorry about that. Copy-pasted some random Chinese from my site. Was putting together the presentation too fast. Embarrased.

  • great advice....just like warren miller told me in a movie when i was younger

  • 14 people are failing wrong.

  • this is really helpful, thank you.

  • @campbpar Interesting attempt to fail at commenting! :-)

  • @dereksivers It always goes straight to my amygdala, sir. Thanks for sharing.

  • @sprungtil

    Intelligence only effects learning curve,not starting point.And there is always a plateau about a subject.

    Lets say,fischer reached his plateau after playing for 10 years.You can always do the same thing by playing for 12-14 years. Intelligence doesnt affect much.You can read some neuroscientific papers about that.

    The thing that matters is how you study,focus and learn.

    I dont know if Derek knows anything about neuroscience,but neuroscentific data supports his point.

  • failing iz ma thing yo!

  • I'm so glad i watched this.

  • So let's say two people start playing a game at the same time. Both start out at the same skill level and both put in the same amount of work to get good at it. One person gets better at the game at, let's say, 10 times the rate of the other person. Wouldn't that almost prove that some people are innately better than others at certain things? What about people who are prodigies at music, or math, or something else? I'm hearing a lot of pretty words but I'm not seeing enough statistical data.

  • @sprungtil I like your example. I think the logic here is not that the good person is not naturally better, because it is clear that he/she is. It is that the "bad" person will always remain bad because they don't have that naturally-given talent. The point trying to be conveyed is that while some people are inately good at things, it does not mean those who are not are unable to reach that same level of ability simply because their starting point is a lot further away.

  • @sprungtil I see what you're saying but I find that person B "the one that's not getting that good" is the one that has the fixed mindset, where as person A has the growth mindset and just enjoys find new way to become better.

  • Thanks bro this was awesome.

  • helped me over a hurdle! Thanks Derek! I'll make sure to fail & learn as much as possible =]

  • i'm 10 seconds in and i feel like my ears are being molested by your voice

  • @Toobmeal lmao

  • thank you very much for this

  • You sound like X on youtube.

  • 13 people did not allow themselves to fail.

  • But failing certificate exams is expensive! 

  • abcdefghijklmnop

  • That was brilliant and insightful. You must have worked really hard to make this video

  • Wow, that was probably the best content on learning I have found the last year. Thx a ton. :)

  • he said , 'uh' once!! HE'S NOT A PROFESSIONAL

  • Thank you so much for sharing, Derek!

  • Hi Derek,

    Thank you so much, thanks to you I realised I can start drawing again.

    You are changing my life.

  • Dear Derek -

    thank you so much for your enlightening thoughts.

    You must be a wise and lucky man indeed.

    Please don't stop sharing your inspiration and intelligent points of view!

    All the best

    Ziggy

  • @IvanMarinIvkovich Oh I see

  • Blah blah blah...thanks for your pedagogical ideas, DS, but they don't even qualify as theories, which have to be proven NOT ONLY to be consistent with observation,

    but to be the best among ALL POSSIBLE other hypotheses. And, even if proven to be true, the theory need not be relevant or important compared to many other competing forces (which themselves have to be proven theories), which are based upon the fewest possible axioms (e.g. 4 fundamental forces).

  • so experiments can't fail?

  • @QadeemSamir

    If you do not expect a specific outcome of the experiment, no. That´s what makes it an experiment, you don´t know what´s gonna happen.

    If you do, then it´s not an experiment. It´s an attempt.

  • so good.

  • Load of BS. Tell your BS crap about "need to fail" to those who are unlucky enough - through no fault of their own, since nobody has control of a judge or jury - to lose a criminal trial and is held hostage in prison.

    Being convicted of a crime proves absolutely nothing about truth or reality, and even less about the nature of the convict.

    There are still fanatics who deny the proven fact of manmade global warming,

    yet believe BS that being a criminal makes one a "bad" person.

  • @mphello If it's not under his control, than the convicted person isn't failing. Rather, the judge and jury failed. Sivers is talking about things that ARE under your control.

  • @mphello if you do something against the law, yeah, maybe you didn't want to, or you might not be a truly bad person, but if you break the law, you break the law. Doing so you get punishments. That's just how it is.

  • @TangyTangoJuice That must mean millions of people allegedly directly killed by Stalin in the former USSR had broken the law.

    No, it's NOT "just how it is". Somebody MAKES those laws. So people can fight back and overthrow them.

    THAT'S how it is, because that's how it HAS been. Revolutions: Russia (1917), America (1776), Greece (2011).

  • I lost The Game.

  • Who are you, Derek Silvers?

  • Would it be possible to add subtitles to your videos? I know it's hard work, but those with with hearing disabilities would really appreciate it. I loved the Picasso reference. My mom works in a museum that did big Picasso exhibition. I'd love to show this video to her but she has trouble with her hearing. Please consider the subtitles and keep doing the awesome work. You have worked hard with your blog and videos. Keep learning and growing.

  • Thank you for sharing your ideas. The world is better for this experiment of yours. Okay, it's time for me to get back to failing now.

  • How ironic! Today I was doing a simple video series on using a product to make my car headlights clear again,and at the end of the last video I listed the mistakes I made so that others could learn from them!

    I did not feel like I failed,but rather that my mistakes could help others do better!

    Not only did I learn from MY mistakes,but the mistakes in the instructions as well!

  • You really opened my mind with this. Especially the mindset part since I realise I've been stuck in a fixed mindset all my life. Now that my studies hit a hard patch and I have to re-do many courses, I feel like I'm a total loser because I used to be so smart but suddenly hit a hard patch. With your tips I might be able to change that and finish my studies like I really want.

    Thank you for this. Your voice is also so smoothing it relaxed me all the way through this video.

  • @2Cool4UCompany

    I have the same problem!

    

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  • i rly like your videos- keep it up :)

  • I like your effort, keep up the good work.

  • Yeeaah I'm going to pass this piece of excellence on.

  • I winced the other day as I read a review of my latest group of songs and 'disheartened' was among my feelings.

    Thanks for your video.....it's very 'heartening' ...... ah ..... life's a funny thing. :)

  • I am stunned by the brilliance of this.

  • wow your movies are brilliant. :D I love them.. :D

  • repetitio est mater studiorum, bro, in past there were some people who knew that already thousand years again

  • The title of the video is a bit misleading because some might take it litteral,you dont NEED to fail but if you do fail trying domething new or something you're bad at, its OKAY because you learn alot from it.

    I dont think you said chase failure because anyone who tries something 'beyond himself' will eventually encounter it.

  • assertion, explanation, example, proof, references

    first person to convince me with arguments

  • If failing is good I've got it made.

  • I heard about this on Forum!!!

    It's also on NurtureShock: How (Not) to Nurture a Child

  • Awesome ! :)

  • HoN = Heroes of Newearth

  • Looks like 4 people think they are geniuses

  • Derek, whats a basketball player say about how many shots he's missed?

    ITS OVER NINE THOUSAND!

  • ooooohhh inspireing (:

  • didle diddledeloup diddlddidele didididelededlelelioup

  • @zcuzcu Troll ;P

  • @zcuzcu doddle eeeeeeeep! doodididle eeeeeeeeep!

  • @dereksivers Is this a failure?

  • I am so glad we have the same name. :)

  • Great video; really super. Here's a great book about failure: Try Again Fail Again Fail Better.

  • Thanks Derek! Great work! I am so glad I got to meet you years ago.. all the best!

    Nettye

  • Brilliant presentation!

  • You know those moments where you go "Ahh that makes perfect sense now!" Yeah, I had at least 20 of those watching this. Excellent work, Derek.

  • Just purchased your audiobook of "Anything You Want" through Audible.

  • the book is amazing

  • Incredible video Derek, thank you so much for posting. I purchased your book "Anything You Want" today on iTunes and I very much look forward to diving into it. Keep it up my friend

  • This exceeded my expectations. You must have worked very hard on this!

    

  • Derek, thank you so much for this video... this really has motivated me as musician and future composer to keep on failing! Thank you for the inspiration and wisdom you shared.

  • So true!

  • Great insights into something i didn't even think of before :)

  • كل الاحترام!

  • (continued, sorry it's so long) Re:clay class - I'd rather get a lesser mark trying to make a great pot, than have a massive pile of unlooked-at pots for an easy A. I'd be more upset with that lesser mark, but I'd keep trying, and making more pots, until I got it right, (assuming I ever could and had unlimited clay...) Sorry Derek, but I didn't think that story was a good example, it practically contradicts your point. As @visualplant points out, ultimately, we are striving to succeed.

  • @sockpuppety, I think you missed the point. I would have cried for not getting to the mass class.

    You see TRYING to make a great pot doesn't teach you much about MAKING a great pot. The first item I threw kept shrinking, until I ended up with a tiny plate suitable for soy sauce dip or used tea bag. My fourth effort resulted in a cup big enough for tea. To be able to make a pot you must learn to make a pot... and it's only if you know how to make a pot, you can make a good pot.

  • @Ketutar, My own point was I'd make MANY pots regardless, but if I'm to be marked, I'd rather for my quality than my quanity. (Ultimately I'm not out for marks, I'm out to improve my abilities. My success would be how much I TRIED!) :o)  ("Trying" and "making" are synonymous to me.) I'd've failed many MORE times trying to make a perfect pot, and not failed at all making 50 pounds of careless pots. That's why I thought it a poor example the overall premise; learning from failure.

  • @sockpuppety ...Mind you, I'm assuming unlimited clay for ALL. If the perfect pot side only get enough clay for 1 pot, obviously I'd want to be on the weight side! But if each pays for their own clay; I'm poor so I'd want to be on the 1 pot side, so at least I could keep destroying & reworking it until ready for firing, rather than only make a couple pounds of pots because that's all I could afford and get an F... In that case, better to take my chances with one pot. I'd still want to pass!

  • (sorry, still babbling & I know overanalyzing) Re: Clay- I know Derek was making a point about those who made many without caring how they did made better stuff than those who made 1 carefully. Yea, but that's obvious; do it more, get better at it. But I want to get GOOD at it (pottery or whatever it is) so my objective will still always be that 1 great pot, and I'll have to make a bazillion pots! But I want to be held accountable for what I do. Failure is worthless without a goal.

  • @sockpuppety (And don't worry, Derek, I won't tell you my goal! I shall keep it secret from you! Altho I might tell an honest friend who will hold me accountable, and give me encouragement and help each time I fail...) ;o)

  • I'd have wanted to be on the "1 perfect pot" side of the ceramics class. In reality, what would happen to the quantity group once they hit the desired weight? They'd stop, or even not make pots at all but bricks in a competition to have the biggest pile... (I'm assuming unlimited clay was allowed for both sides.) No matter what, I'd have made MANY pots; think of the ol' "practice makes perfect"; but in the end I would have wanted to be judged for my quality. (to be continued)

  • Thanks Derek this was doooope! Time to go out and fail some today!

  • Great points. But the goal is not to fail.

    The current trend in startup philosophy – "Fail fast and often" – is teaching a young generation of naive entrepreneurs that failure is the destination.

    The goal is to succeed. The inevitable reality of striving to succeed includes failing in the process sometimes which is ok as long as you ultimately succeed a few times. If you just keep failing - that's literally what you are instructing people to do here - that ain't good.

  • @visualplant

    the point of this video is that, unless you want to ride a bicycle with side wheels all your life, making an investment in failure, instead of sticking to the easy success, allows you to have a remarkable success later.

    of course that involves some risk taking. it's up to you to decide how much you can afford to put at stake.

  • @visualplant

    by the way, Derek says: fail in order to: 1) learn, 2) grow, 3) experiment

    so failure is not the goal here, but the road leading to the goals

  • Love it.

  • I'm currently learning Japanese so I'll avoid the people who think they need to "help" me learn the language by doing everything for me.

  • Courage wolf is strong with you.

  • Good stuff

  • great great video! that must have taken a lot of hard work!

  • flkbhkLudlhjhOfbglogVyz'zjEdro­atohplznYbvzjhOfjfnzbUbcj!!!

    oooops d;)

  • You've got to loose to know how to win. Steve Tyler, Aerosmith - Dream on.

  • pretty common knowledge

  • Best thing I've heard in a while...

  • thumbs up if you are from HoN forums :)

  • @HsDeluxe2 lol only 16

  • @HsDeluxe2 The fuck is HoN?

  • @kanesizer9 heroes of newarth

  • 1 person failed

  • Fantastic stories embedded within this speech.

  • I've gotten really good at failing!

  • All well and good, but I've become increasingly persuaded of the mindset that

    1. Do something b/c you love it and you WANT to [not "should"] get better at it. improving brings you joy and a feeling of accomplishment

    2. Concentrate on developing your strengths, not bolstering your weaknesses.

    If we were all meant to be equally excellent at all things, some of us are redundant :-)

  • "You must have worked really hard at this".... what a freakin excellent thing to understand. Thanks Derek.

  • Anything of importance I've ever designed required me to step away from it after a first draft, ideally so that I could return to it with fresh eyes and see what I'd done wrong. It took me years to realize this shouldn't be thought of as a frustrating delay so much as part of a necessary process of improvement.

  • people share this....

  • This is wonderful, thank you.

    WRT parenting, especially young kids, and exercising the "good job!" tick, see also Po Bronson's Nurture Shock (there a video on his site called 'The Myth of Praise'). But it's really great (and important!) to be reminded as an adult.

    Also WRT showing people all our mistakes, Anna Quindlen has an essay called "Putting up a Good Front" in her book Living Out Loud.

  • Derek. This was total FAIL. Thank you.

    I plan on sharing this as widely as I can.

  • I LOVE this... it speaks to everything I believe and I learned some new stuff too!

  • Your Great. Keep these inspiring videos comin...

  • Great post! Makes me think of why the re-write is so important in songwriting. You never (OK, rarely) get it right on the first try. You need to get it out there to see how people react. If you're not connecting (i.e. failing), you need to bite the bullet and re-write until you nail it!!!

  • Song writing proves this point to a T. To get good at it you have to write thousands of songs and experience the dogs that can't get up off the page to see what works and doesn't work. So too in investing. The most reliable people are the ones that have seen more than a few market cycles and have made mistakes of all types, their intuition is born of pain, caution, and knowing when to be fearless.

  • Thank you!

    Very inspiring!

  • Derek I hope you are Failing LOL thank you...for sharing.

  • hi derek, the first ten minutes watching your new video, i just thought: superperficial, that’s nothing new, but then, i really could discover two points. first: when i was in art class at school, i was complimented for working hard. thinking i have no talent, i was frustrated, but indeed i tried harder and i became a designer. second: the clay-experiment convinced me: i wasted so much live time with perfection. thanks for your inspiring impulses, from trial and error space ;-)

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  • Very interesting studies mentioned as usual. Your talks are always insightful and thought provoking, great job.

  • Thank you, Derek!

  • Love this! Thank you!

  • When I was a kid, the only learning resource I had for programming was a compiler, and no programming manuals. I had no choice but to learn through compiler errors.

    As time went by, and as I practiced further, these errors came fewer in numbers.

    Now that I'm all grown up, I'm acing all my programming courses at university.

  • Thank you Derek. Great to know that I'm still, work in progress. :)

  • good stuff 

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