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“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga
2 
Table of Contents 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#1 
Every 
step 
counts. 
Lesson 
#2 
Don’t 
give 
up 
too 
soon. 
Lesson 
#3 
Forget 
the 
excuses. 
Look 
for 
opportuniDes 
everywhere. 
Lesson 
#4 
Set 
a 
challenging 
goal. 
Lesson 
#5 
It’s 
only 
in 
your 
mind. 
Lesson 
#6 
Never 
regret. 
Lesson 
#7 
Look 
forward 
to 
your 
next 
challenge. 
Lesson 
#8 
The 
price 
of 
failure 
is 
higher 
than 
the 
price 
of 
taking 
risks. 
Lesson 
#9 
There’s 
always 
a 
bright 
side. 
Lesson 
#10 
Change 
yourself. 
Lesson 
#11 
Avoid 
being 
a 
perfecDonist. 
Lesson 
#12 
A 
failure 
is 
an 
incredible 
learning 
experience. 
Lesson 
#13 
Try 
it. 
Lesson 
#14 
A 
floor 
from 
which 
to 
jump. 
Lesson 
#15 
The 
hidden 
power 
of 
laughter. 
Lesson 
#16 
What 
luck 
really 
means. 
Lesson 
#17 
Be 
a 
good 
student 
and 
build 
out 
from 
your 
weaknesses. 
Lesson 
#18 
Learn 
about 
yourself 
-­‐ 
‘I’ve 
never… 
bragged’ 
Lesson 
#19 
Change 
your 
strategy. 
Try 
once 
more. 
Lesson 
#20 
The 
“Not 
losing” 
Strategy. 
Lesson 
#21 
Your 
aTtude 
should 
be 
to 
move 
your 
feet. 
Lesson 
#22 
Say 
NO. 
The 
Best 
is 
yet 
to 
come. 
Lesson 
#23 
DeterminaDon.
Go 
placidly 
amid 
the 
noise 
and 
haste 
and 
remember 
what 
peace 
there 
may 
be 
in 
silence. 
As 
far 
as 
possible, 
without 
surrender, 
be 
on 
good 
terms 
with 
all 
persons. 
Speak 
your 
truth 
quietly 
and 
clearly; 
and 
listen 
to 
others, 
even 
the 
dull 
and 
the 
ignorant; 
they 
too 
have 
their 
story. 
Avoid 
loud 
and 
aggressive 
people; 
they 
are 
vexaDons 
to 
the 
spirit. 
If 
you 
compare 
yourself 
with 
others, 
you 
may 
become 
vain 
and 
biYer; 
for 
always 
there 
will 
be 
greater 
and 
lesser 
persons 
than 
yourself. 
Enjoy 
your 
achievements 
as 
well 
as 
your 
plans. 
Keep 
interested 
in 
your 
own 
career, 
however 
humble; 
it 
is 
a 
real 
possession 
in 
the 
changing 
fortunes 
of 
Dme. 
Exercise 
cauDon 
in 
your 
business 
affairs; 
for 
the 
world 
is 
full 
of 
trickery. 
But 
let 
this 
not 
blind 
you 
to 
what 
virtue 
there 
is; 
many 
persons 
strive 
for 
high 
ideals; 
and 
everywhere 
life 
is 
full 
of 
heroism. 
Be 
yourself. 
Especially, 
do 
not 
feign 
affecDon. 
Neither 
be 
cynical 
about 
love; 
for 
in 
the 
face 
of 
all 
aridity 
and 
disenchantment 
it 
is 
as 
perennial 
as 
the 
grass. 
3 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga
Take 
kindly 
the 
counsel 
of 
the 
years, 
gracefully 
surrendering 
the 
things 
of 
youth. 
Nurture 
strength 
of 
spirit 
to 
shield 
you 
in 
sudden 
misfortune. 
But 
do 
not 
distress 
yourself 
with 
dark 
imaginings. 
Many 
fears 
are 
born 
of 
faDgue 
and 
loneliness. 
Beyond 
a 
wholesome 
discipline, 
be 
gentle 
with 
yourself. 
You 
are 
a 
child 
of 
the 
universe, 
no 
less 
than 
the 
trees 
and 
the 
stars; 
you 
have 
a 
right 
to 
be 
here. 
And 
whether 
or 
not 
it 
is 
clear 
to 
you, 
no 
doubt 
the 
universe 
is 
unfolding 
as 
it 
should. 
Therefore 
be 
at 
peace 
with 
God, 
whatever 
you 
conceive 
Him 
to 
be 
and 
whatever 
your 
labors 
and 
aspiraDons, 
in 
the 
noisy 
confusion 
of 
life 
keep 
peace 
with 
your 
soul. 
With 
all 
its 
sham, 
drudgery 
and 
broken 
dreams, 
it 
is 
sJll 
a 
beauJful 
world. 
Be 
cheerful. 
Strive 
to 
be 
happy. 
Max 
Ehrmann, 
Desiderata. 
4 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga
Every Step Counts 
“ are 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#1 
…they 
are 
full 
of 
life, 
aTtude, 
emoDons, 
wishes, 
dreams, 
and 
feelings. 
You 
shouldn’t 
take 
falls 
as 
failure 
but 
as 
clean 
slates. 
5 
When 
you 
fall 
and 
get 
up, 
the 
first 
steps 
are 
the 
hardest, 
the 
toughest, 
almost 
like 
baby 
steps; 
they 
Every 
step 
is 
a 
step 
forward… 
even 
a 
step 
backwards 
is 
a 
step 
forward. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
also 
confused, 
erraDc, 
liYle… 
even 
uncomfortable 
and 
a 
bit 
difficult 
to 
take 
but 
they 
are 
also 
full 
You 
can 
start 
again, 
get 
to 
know 
life 
one 
more 
Dme 
and 
not 
everyone 
has 
that 
chance. 
There 
is 
an 
enJre 
world 
to 
be 
conquered. 
There 
is 
that 
longing 
for 
victory, 
survival, 
conquest. 
And 
nothing 
should 
stop 
you 
from 
geTng 
up 
and 
going 
forward.
Lesson 
#2 
Don’t Give Up Too Soon 
Time 
truly 
does 
heal 
everything. 
It 
has 
the 
ability 
to 
let 
us 
forget 
the 
steps 
we 
took 
that 
were 
wrong 
and 
allows 
us 
to 
focus 
on 
the 
good 
ones. 
Time 
gives 
us 
perspecDve. 
In 
many 
occasions, 
it 
will 
take 
longer 
because 
bad 
moments 
hurt 
and 
some 
hurt 
more 
than 
others. 
It 
can 
take 
years, 
but 
we 
need 
to 
be 
prepared 
to 
embrace 
that 
and 
let 
go 
of 
the 
grudge. 
Even 
with 
the 
smallest 
things, 
Jme 
allows 
us 
to 
slowly 
learn 
to 
keep 
the 
good 
and 
let 
the 
harmful 
stay 
in 
the 
past. 
Failure, 
most 
of 
the 
Dme, 
is 
the 
result 
of 
giving 
up 
too 
soon. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
6 
“
Don’t Give Up Too Soon 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#2 
Doing 
is 
hard, 
because 
we 
humans 
are 
fearful 
by 
nature 
and 
need 
to 
learn 
to 
get 
out 
of 
the 
safe 
zone. 
We 
will 
be 
counDng 
sheep 
for 
nights 
and 
days 
if 
we 
don’t. 
As 
helpful 
and 
valuable 
as 
Dme 
is, 
our 
lives 
our 
finite 
so 
we 
have 
only 
a 
rather 
long 
period 
of 
Dme, 
but 
a 
finite 
period, 
between 
our 
birth 
and 
our 
goodbye. 
That 
Dme 
in 
the 
middle, 
has 
an 
ending 
and 
we 
need 
to 
make 
the 
most 
out 
of 
every 
minute. 
It 
doesn’t 
come 
back 
so 
we 
have 
only 
right 
now 
and 
need 
to 
make 
it 
count. 
Think 
of 
Jme 
like 
a 
train 
that 
can’t 
return 
to 
the 
staJon. 
When 
you 
don’t 
do 
something 
at 
the 
Dme 
you 
get 
a 
chance, 
that 
chance 
might 
be 
gone 
forever. 
So 
do 
it! 
Use 
that 
instant. 
Grab 
the 
chance. 
Jump. 
As 
Paulo 
Coelho 
wrote 
in 
The 
Alchemist, 
“It 
is 
said 
that 
the 
darkest 
hour 
of 
the 
night 
comes 
just 
before 
the 
dawn.” 
When 
things 
get 
really 
ugly 
and 
they 
get 
really 
dark, 
it’s 
right 
then 
that 
we 
are 
closest 
to 
achieving 
something. 
7
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#2 
Instead 
of 
backing 
down 
on 
fear 
and 
defeated, 
it 
should 
give 
us 
the 
strength 
to 
conDnue 
because 
that’s 
when 
we 
are 
closest 
to 
our 
goal. 
So 
grit 
your 
teeth, 
don’t 
think 
about 
it 
too 
much, 
persevere 
and 
follow 
the 
path 
you 
dreamed 
of. 
In 
reality, 
we 
don’t 
know 
how 
many 
tries 
it 
will 
take 
to 
get 
to 
our 
goal. 
But 
if 
you 
keep 
trying, 
it’s 
only 
logical 
that 
your 
possibiliDes 
rise. 
Never 
give 
up. 
And 
especially, 
never 
give 
up 
before 
it’s 
Dme. 
The 
next 
try 
might 
be 
it. 
And 
it’s 
one 
try 
away. 
So 
don’t 
throw 
the 
towel 
too 
early. 
Now 
think 
about 
how 
many 
Dmes 
you 
quit 
before 
actually 
failing. 
Surprising, 
right? 
As 
Elbert 
Hubbard 
said, 
“There 
is 
no 
failure 
except 
in 
no 
longer 
trying.” 
And 
most 
of 
the 
Dmes 
we 
quit, 
we 
have 
no 
reasons. 
But 
we 
do 
have 
excuses, 
which 
reminds 
me 
of 
Lesson 
#3. 
8 
Don’t Give Up Too Soon
Forget the excuses. Look for 
opportunities everywhere. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#3 
Excuses 
are 
the 
worst. 
They 
are 
disguised 
as 
good 
reasons, 
but 
they 
aren’t. 
Most 
of 
the 
Dme, 
when 
we 
fail 
or 
give 
up 
too 
early, 
we 
are 
giving 
excuses 
and 
covering 
our 
fear 
of 
not 
doing, 
by 
well… 
not 
doing. 
Get 
rid 
of 
excuses. 
If 
you 
screw 
something 
up, 
just 
say 
so, 
loud 
and 
clear 
so 
everybody 
sees 
your 
courage. 
If 
things 
don’t 
work 
out 
the 
way 
you 
expected 
them 
to, 
accept 
it. 
If 
you 
actually 
make 
a 
wrong 
decision, 
own 
it, 
admit 
it 
-­‐-­‐-­‐ 
it 
shows 
you 
are 
brave. 
If 
fate 
has 
other 
plans 
for 
you, 
take 
the 
lesson 
and 
move 
on. 
Live 
with 
all 
of 
this 
but 
don’t 
let 
it 
haunt 
you. 
Acceptance, 
not 
ignorance, 
is 
bliss. 
As 
for 
opportuniDes 
I, 
for 
example, 
would 
rather 
be 
an 
opDmist. 
Instead 
of 
picking 
excuses 
out 
of 
a 
hat, 
I’d 
rather 
search 
and 
find 
new 
paths 
instead 
of 
going 
for 
the 
whys 
and 
why 
nots 
of 
failure. 
9
Forget the excuses. Look for 
opportunities everywhere. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#3 
Why 
would 
someone 
dedicate 
one’s 
life 
to 
validate 
the 
reasons 
behind 
failure 
when 
you 
could 
actually 
spend 
that 
Dme 
doing 
something 
great? 
I 
am 
convinced 
it 
will 
work 
out 
for 
me 
and 
life 
will 
need 
to 
come 
prove 
me 
wrong. 
In 
the 
meanDme, 
I 
try. 
I 
jump. 
I 
take 
the 
leap. 
Acceptance 
is 
bliss. 
Making 
mistakes 
is 
normal; 
it’s 
good, 
as 
aforemenDoned. 
So 
accept 
and 
learn 
to 
learn 
from 
your 
missteps. 
When 
people 
criDcize 
you, 
remember 
that 
doers 
don’t 
judge; 
instead, 
people 
with 
too 
much 
Dme 
on 
their 
hands 
judge. 
And 
when 
you 
already 
know 
of 
a 
mistake, 
judging 
is 
easy. 
So 
don’t 
worry 
about 
others. 
They 
give 
you 
nothing. 
10
Forget the excuses. Look for 
opportunities everywhere. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#3 
Place 
your 
own 
bets. 
And 
don’t 
forget 
that 
your 
biggest 
hit 
is 
in 
trying. 
Benjamin 
Franklin, 
who 
clearly 
understood 
these 
principles 
used 
to 
say, 
“I 
never 
a 
man 
who 
was 
good 
at 
making 
excuses 
who 
was 
good 
at 
anything 
else.” 
And 
he 
was 
and 
remains 
right: 
when 
you 
take 
your 
Dme 
to 
find 
and 
make 
excuses 
for 
your 
acDons, 
you 
lose 
valuable 
Dme 
to 
do 
stuff. 
Doers 
don’t 
make 
excuses. 
They 
set 
challenging 
goals. 
11 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
Don’t 
look 
for 
excuses 
to 
jusDfy 
why 
you 
failed. 
Look 
for 
opportuniDes 
and 
reasons 
where 
to 
build 
your 
next 
success.
Set a challenging goal 
It’s 
like 
110 
meter 
hurdles. 
These 
races 
are 
run 
by 
top-­‐ 
notch 
athletes 
who 
not 
only 
have 
to 
be 
prepared 
to 
run, 
but 
they 
need 
to 
prepare 
themselves 
to 
also 
jump 
through 
obstacles… 
so 
it’s 
like 
life 
has 
been 
shrunk 
to 
a 
single 
sporDng 
event. 
Life 
is 
a 
long 
and 
winding 
road 
that 
has 
hurdles 
all 
over 
and 
we 
need 
to 
prepare 
ourselves 
to 
jump. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#4 
Sports 
make 
for 
great 
metaphors 
when 
we 
try 
to 
understand 
challenges. 
Sportspeople, 
unlike 
most 
people, 
have 
set 
high 
standards 
for 
themselves 
and 
are 
driven 
by 
a 
never-­‐ending 
hunger 
for 
victory. 
They 
take 
no 
shortcuts. 
But 
they 
do 
take 
risks 
and 
act. 
They 
do. 
11 
The 
size 
of 
the 
challenges 
you 
take 
on 
is 
a 
reflecDon 
of 
the 
size 
in 
which 
you 
see 
yourself. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“
Set a challenging goal 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#4 
Take 
a 
look 
at 
Olympic 
pole 
vaulters. 
They 
have 
an 
actual 
goal 
that 
is 
always 
to 
go 
higher 
and 
higher. 
Their 
goals 
need 
to 
be 
high 
enough 
to 
moDvate 
them 
and 
move 
them 
to 
achievement 
-­‐ 
but 
their 
goals 
also 
need 
to 
be 
low 
enough 
that 
they’re 
achievable. 
11 
Thinking 
of 
them, 
do 
this 
exercise: 
close 
your 
eyes 
and 
picture 
an 
auditorium. 
Picture 
it 
full 
of 
people. 
Try 
100 
people. 
Then 
try 
500. 
And 
if 
your 
mind 
allows 
you 
too, 
try 
2,000 
people 
siTng 
there, 
waiDng 
for 
you 
to 
talk. 
They’re 
there 
to 
listen 
to 
you. 
Now 
try 
imagining 
5,000 
or 
10,000. 
A 
very 
large 
crowd. 
Transform 
it 
into 
a 
football 
stadium 
with 
50,000 
people, 
all 
there 
waiDng 
to 
listen 
to 
what 
you 
have 
to 
say. 
All 
of 
a 
sudden, 
they 
go 
silent. 
Their 
eyes 
are 
all 
on 
you, 
concentrated 
on 
the 
spot 
in 
which 
you’re 
standing, 
waiDng 
for 
you 
to 
say 
something. 
The 
microphone 
is 
on.
Set a challenging goal 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#4 
Their 
eyes 
are 
sDll 
on 
you 
and 
you 
focus 
on 
your 
soon-­‐ 
to-­‐be-­‐out 
words. 
You 
speak. 
No 
words 
of 
pampering, 
no 
salutaDons. 
You 
ONLY 
state 
your 
GOAL. 
Convinced. 
Proud. 
And 
no 
maYer 
what 
you 
say, 
they 
automaDcally 
start 
laughing 
at 
you, 
loud, 
making 
fun 
of 
whatever 
you 
said. 
They 
point 
all 
their 
fingers 
at 
you, 
calling 
you 
crazy, 
calling 
you 
hopeless. 
Apparently, 
what 
you 
said 
was 
the 
funniest 
thing 
they 
had 
ever 
heard! 
The 
enDre 
crowd 
is 
laughing 
at 
your 
most 
precious 
dream. 
It 
truly 
must 
be 
unaYainable, 
ridiculous, 
and 
too 
ambiDous 
for 
your 
capabiliDes. 
Don’t 
open 
your 
eyes. 
Imagine 
yourself 
there 
holding 
your 
ground. 
In 
the 
depth 
of 
the 
brightness 
of 
the 
lights 
around 
you, 
you 
stay 
put. 
Unmoved. 
If 
you 
can 
hold 
that 
though, 
you 
found 
your 
calling. 
Again, 
whatever 
it 
is. 
If 
the 
people 
you 
admire, 
love, 
or 
care 
about 
and 
even 
the 
general 
public 
is 
against 
you 
and 
you 
can 
sDll 
stay 
put, 
jump. 
If 
you 
want 
to 
run, 
then 
it’s 
yourself 
who 
doesn’t 
believe 
you 
can 
achieve 
it. 
Aper 
all, 
it 
was 
a 
stadium 
in 
your 
mind. 
11
Set a challenging goal 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#4 
Will 
you 
have 
chances 
of 
succeeding? 
That 
you 
don’t 
know. 
But 
if 
you 
set 
a 
high, 
ambiDous, 
huge 
goal… 
there 
will 
be 
no 
compeJJon! 
Richard 
Brinsley 
Sheridan 
once 
said, 
“The 
surest 
way 
to 
fail 
is 
not 
to 
determine 
to 
succeed.’’ 
Only 
YOU 
can 
transform 
your 
goals 
into 
chances 
and 
chances 
into 
reality. 
No 
one 
else. 
11
It’s only in your mind. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#5 
The 
exercise 
we 
just 
did 
was 
a 
way 
of 
showing 
you 
how 
all 
the 
things 
that 
hurt 
you 
are 
in 
your 
mind. 
When 
you 
are 
not 
affecDng 
anybody, 
their 
judgment 
doesn’t 
count 
so 
if 
you’re 
stopped 
by 
them, 
you’re 
choosing 
to 
be 
stopped. 
The 
fact 
that 
you 
didn’t 
achieve 
your 
goal 
this 
Dme 
doesn’t 
mean 
you’re 
unsuccessful. 
You 
need 
to 
be 
sure 
like 
I 
am 
that 
you 
will 
succeed 
the 
next 
Dme. 
Or 
the 
Dme 
aper 
the 
next 
Dme. 
11 
Failure 
is 
only 
in 
your 
mind. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
In 
the 
meanDme, 
consider 
the 
things 
you 
learn 
in 
your 
road. 
The 
people 
you 
met. 
The 
things 
that 
you 
DID 
accomplish. 
Even 
if 
we 
fail 
in 
our 
main 
goal 
once, 
it 
shouldn’t 
mean 
you’re 
automaJcally 
losing.
It’s only in your mind. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#5 
Quite 
the 
opposite, 
you 
have 
the 
chance 
to 
see 
beyond 
and 
find 
actual 
things 
you 
did 
get. 
Not 
only 
‘lessons’ 
but 
hard 
evidence 
that 
the 
road 
isn’t 
a 
waste 
and 
what 
you 
win 
depends 
on 
your 
perspecDve. 
Not 
accomplishing 
a 
goal 
doesn’t 
mean 
you’ve 
plainly 
failed. 
And 
what 
it 
surely 
doesn’t 
mean 
is 
that 
you’re 
a 
loser 
or 
a 
failure 
yourself. 
Get 
past 
the 
moment 
and 
go 
on. 
It’s 
up 
to 
you 
to 
decide 
if 
you 
believe 
that 
or 
not. 
Again, 
it’s 
all 
about 
perspecDve. 
The 
way 
you 
see 
things 
will 
change 
the 
way 
you 
take 
things, 
understand 
things. 
Think 
of 
this 
William 
S. 
Gilbert 
quote: 
“Losers 
visualize 
the 
penalDes 
of 
failure. 
Winners 
visualize 
the 
rewards 
of 
success.” 
Visualize 
the 
rewards 
and 
you 
are 
one 
step 
ahead 
of 
everyone 
else, 
on 
the 
path 
to 
get 
them. 
11
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#6 
Never regret. 
We’ve 
understood 
already 
that 
failure 
has 
a 
very 
bad 
reputaDon. 
It 
might 
be 
our 
upbringing, 
our 
parents 
growing 
up 
more 
deprived, 
or 
even 
the 
educaDon 
that 
we 
got 
in 
school. 
In 
any 
case, 
we 
all 
have 
a 
negaJve 
percepJon 
of 
failure, 
unfortunately. 
Now 
the 
problem 
with 
regret 
is 
that 
it’s 
the 
very 
same 
consequence 
of 
our 
fear 
of 
failure. 
Most 
of 
the 
Dme 
11 
When 
you 
look 
at 
the 
past 
and 
think 
“What 
if…” 
all 
it 
does 
is 
paralyze 
you 
for 
the 
future. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
we 
don’t 
do 
something 
out 
of 
fear 
of 
making 
a 
mistake, 
we 
end 
up 
seeing 
we 
were 
meant 
to 
do 
it 
and 
could 
have 
succeeded, 
just 
too 
late 
to 
go 
back.
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#6 
Never regret. 
“Why 
didn’t 
I…?” 
“What 
if 
I 
had 
done…?” 
“If 
only 
I…” 
“I 
would 
have 
done…” 
Yet 
asking 
ourselves 
those 
quesDons 
does 
us 
more 
harm 
than 
good. 
It 
sort 
of 
petrifies 
us 
in 
stone, 
leaving 
a 
negaDve 
scar 
from 
what 
we 
didn’t 
do. 
Since 
we 
were 
afraid 
once, 
it 
is 
only 
logical 
that 
we 
become 
more 
fearful 
as 
Dme 
progresses. 
Basically, 
being 
worried 
about 
what 
happened 
yesterday 
clouds 
your 
eyes 
from 
watching 
what 
will 
happen 
tomorrow, 
just 
like 
when 
we 
worry 
about 
yesterday’s 
rain 
and 
miss 
seeing 
the 
sun 
that 
came 
out 
today. 
Be 
hopeful 
about 
the 
future. 
Stop 
complaining. 
Stop 
regreng. 
11
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#6 
Never regret. 
“Remember 
that 
your 
failures 
are 
the 
seeds 
of 
your 
most 
glorious 
successes. 
Be 
sad 
if 
you 
must, 
but 
don’t 
despair.” 
So 
goes 
an 
unknown 
passage. 
Be 
sad. 
But 
don’t 
despair. 
Instead, 
start 
preparing 
for 
your 
next 
baYle. 
11
Look forward to your next 
challenge. 
Life 
is 
truly 
a 
present 
and 
the 
past 
just 
doesn’t 
let 
you 
unwrap 
it. 
It’s 
a 
gip 
that 
should 
be 
opened 
today. 
There 
are 
no 
Dme 
machines, 
no 
way 
of 
going 
back. 
There 
simply 
isn’t 
a 
way. 
You 
can 
perfect 
yourself 
and 
not 
make 
the 
same 
mistake 
again 
but 
whatever 
you 
already 
did 
is 
done. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#7 
If 
we 
understood 
all 
we’ve 
learned 
so 
far, 
we 
know 
that 
life 
gives 
us 
opportuniJes 
all 
the 
Jme, 
even 
when 
it 
presents 
challenges, 
hurdles, 
and 
obstacles. 
And 
the 
old 
saying 
says 
that 
when 
life 
gives 
you 
lemons, 
you 
should 
make 
lemonade. 
What 
it 
basically 
says 
is 
that 
we 
should 
take 
advantage 
of 
all 
moments 
to 
build 
something 
instead 
of 
destroying. 
11 
I 
don’t 
want 
to 
take 
to 
the 
grave 
the 
doubt 
of 
what 
could 
have 
happened 
if 
I 
had 
tried. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“
Look forward to your next 
challenge. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#7 
Use 
the 
past 
as 
your 
feedback 
session. 
The 
past 
is 
informaDon 
of 
what 
not 
to 
do, 
of 
how 
things 
work. 
With 
such 
valuable 
informaDon, 
all 
that 
is 
lep 
to 
do 
is 
to 
try 
again. 
Why 
have 
you 
gone 
through 
all 
the 
trouble 
of 
learning 
a 
lesson 
if 
you 
won’t 
use 
it 
to 
go 
at 
it 
again? 
Are 
you 
going 
to 
waste 
the 
lessons 
of 
the 
past 
staying 
in 
your 
chair 
doing 
nothing? 
I 
hope 
the 
answer 
is 
no. 
So 
when 
you 
fail, 
start 
seTng 
a 
new 
challenge, 
aim 
for 
that 
one 
now. 
Imagine 
big 
inventors 
such 
as 
Thomas 
Alva 
Edison. 
He 
brought 
us 
the 
marvelous 
light 
bulbs 
that 
we 
all 
use 
today. 
Now 
history 
says 
it 
didn’t 
happen 
overnight, 
but 
that 
it 
took 
him 
10,000 
tries 
before 
he 
built 
a 
successful 
bulb. 
How 
would 
our 
lives 
be 
today 
had 
he 
stopped 
at 
the 
9,999th 
try? 
11
Look forward to your next 
challenge. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#7 
Look 
forward 
to 
something. 
Your 
next 
step 
brings 
magic, 
hope, 
hunger 
of 
seeing 
what 
faith 
prepared 
for 
you. 
The 
world 
is 
full 
of 
great 
things 
that 
don’t 
move, 
things 
that 
are 
yours 
to 
take 
if 
you’re 
strong 
and 
you 
persevere. 
Go 
get 
them! 
Like 
English 
Chemist 
Humphrey 
Davy 
once 
said, 
“The 
most 
important 
of 
my 
discoveries 
have 
been 
suggested 
to 
me 
by 
my 
failures.” 
Let 
them 
guide 
you 
instead 
of 
breaking 
you. 
11
The price of failure is higher than 
the price of taking risks. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#8 
Going 
into 
the 
unknown 
isn’t 
easy. 
When 
I 
talk 
about 
reframing 
failure 
and 
looking 
at 
in 
under 
a 
different 
light, 
it 
doesn’t 
mean 
I 
don’t 
know 
that 
it 
gets 
rough 
at 
Dmes. 
It 
does 
and 
it 
will 
conDnue 
to 
do 
so. 
But 
the 
exercise 
you 
need 
to 
do 
is 
seeing 
beyond. 
PuTng 
things 
in 
a 
balance 
and 
seeing 
what 
plate 
is 
heavier. 
Do 
you 
want 
to 
pay 
the 
price 
of 
failing 
or 
pay 
the 
price 
of 
not 
doing? 
If 
you 
don’t 
do 
you 
get 
nothing. 
If 
you 
do 
and 
fail 
you 
at 
least 
get 
something. 
11 
The 
only 
price 
you 
have 
to 
pay 
in 
order 
to 
try 
new 
things 
and 
conquer 
uncharted 
territory 
is 
that 
of 
taking 
the 
risk 
of 
failing. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
So 
use 
your 
resources 
wisely 
when 
you 
pay 
in 
life. 
Think 
of 
Bob 
Mandel, 
who 
took 
a 
month 
of 
his 
Dme 
to 
stand 
on 
the 
same 
New 
York 
corner 
day 
aper 
day 
and 
invite 
all 
of 
the 
women 
who 
passed 
by 
for 
a 
coffee.
The price of failure is higher than 
the price of taking risks. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#8 
All 
of 
them 
said 
no. 
But 
he 
wasn’t 
trying 
to 
hurt 
himself. 
He 
was 
trying 
to 
understand 
what 
failing 
meant 
for 
him, 
how 
it 
hit 
him, 
what 
changes 
it 
made 
in 
him. 
And 
he 
learned 
the 
hard 
way! 
Overcoming 
the 
fear 
of 
rejecDon 
and 
in 
turn, 
not 
being 
scared 
anymore 
of 
trying 
what 
might 
not 
work 
out 
well, 
takes 
you 
places. 
Takes 
you 
high. 
Fear 
on 
its 
own, 
takes 
you 
nowhere. 
And 
there’s 
nothing 
worse 
than 
inacDon. 
Not 
having 
done 
anything, 
not 
even 
something 
wrong. 
Frances 
Watkins 
Harper 
put 
it 
very 
clearly, 
“Apparent 
failure 
may 
hold 
in 
its 
rough 
shell 
the 
germs 
of 
a 
success 
that 
will 
blossom 
in 
Dme 
and 
bear 
fruit 
throughout 
eternity.” 
See 
beyond. 
Look 
at 
the 
bright 
side. 
11
There’s always a bright side. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#9 
We’ve 
heard 
the 
‘there’s 
always 
a 
bright 
side’ 
phrase 
many 
Dmes. 
The 
reason 
why 
these 
phrases 
become 
so 
popular 
is 
because 
they 
somewhat 
help 
you 
visualize 
things 
you 
already 
know 
but 
haven’t 
yet 
seen. 
For 
example, 
consider 
doing 
really 
bad 
at 
something. 
Then, 
you 
write 
a 
book 
called, 
“All 
I 
Tried 
Went 
Wrong.” 
You 
laugh 
about 
the 
situaDons 
that 
happened 
in 
your 
life 
and 
how 
nothing 
seems 
to 
go 
right 
for 
you. 
The 
book 
becomes 
a 
bestseller. 
Failure? 
Hardly. 
11 
It’s 
not 
whether 
or 
not 
you 
fall, 
but 
whether 
or 
not 
you 
want 
to 
live 
your 
life 
down 
there. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
Thousands 
of 
thousands 
of 
successful 
human 
beings 
have 
gone 
through 
failure 
and 
got 
back 
up 
on 
their 
feet. 
What 
they 
did 
was 
focus 
on 
their 
strengths 
instead 
of 
their 
weaknesses.
There’s always a bright side. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#9 
He 
had 
worked 
his 
enDre 
life 
building 
his 
store 
and 
when 
he 
came 
back 
from 
a 
much 
deserved 
vacaDon, 
a 
river 
had 
flooded 
his 
store. 
He 
lost 
everything. 
The 
suffering 
drove 
him 
to 
become 
a 
moDvaDonal 
speaker. 
And 
he 
opened 
his 
store 
again. 
As 
the 
German 
proverb 
goes, 
“He 
who 
has 
never 
tasted 
what 
is 
biYer 
does 
not 
know 
what 
is 
sweet.” 
See 
failure 
as 
the 
moment 
in 
which 
you 
learn 
to 
taste 
what’s 
really 
good. 
It’s 
actually 
quite 
simple: 
if 
it 
was 
all 
easy, 
then 
nothing 
would 
be. 
When 
something 
is 
standard, 
normal, 
is 
always 
there, 
then 
it 
becomes 
pointless 
to 
fight. 
And 
we 
lose. 
Think 
of 
life 
as 
a 
country 
that 
gives 
you 
double 
ciDzenship: 
you 
are 
a 
ciDzen 
of 
success 
and 
of 
failure 
at 
the 
same 
Dme. 
Then 
when 
we 
grow 
up, 
we 
have 
the 
chance 
to 
choose 
just 
one 
-­‐ 
we 
can’t 
live 
with 
two 
different 
passports. 
Now 
what 
passport 
will 
it 
be? 
11
There’s always a bright side. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#9 
Just 
try 
to 
see 
every 
bump 
in 
the 
road 
as 
an 
opportunity. 
Take 
whatever 
life 
is 
giving 
you 
and 
make 
something 
good 
out 
of 
it. 
When 
something 
knocks 
you 
down, 
think 
why 
it 
happened. 
That 
maybe 
that 
road 
wasn’t 
yours. 
Because 
you’re 
in 
for 
something 
bigger. 
As 
Abraham 
Lincoln 
once 
stated, 
“My 
great 
concern 
is 
not 
whether 
you 
have 
failed, 
but 
whether 
you 
are 
content 
with 
your 
failure.” 
Do 
whatever 
you 
want 
to 
do 
even 
with 
failure. 
Aper 
all, 
“Winning 
is 
a 
habit. 
Unfortunately, 
so 
is 
losing,” 
said 
the 
great 
Vince 
Lombardi. 
What 
will 
your 
habit 
be? 
11
Change yourself. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#10 
We’ve 
talked 
abundantly 
about 
the 
chances 
to 
find 
in 
failure. 
How 
we 
need 
to 
see 
unsuccessful 
runs 
as 
the 
doors 
to 
our 
victory 
leaps. 
But 
it 
can’t 
be 
all 
talk 
and 
no 
acJon. 
No 
maYer 
how 
hard 
your 
problems 
are, 
the 
key 
to 
conquering 
them 
is 
not 
trying 
to 
change 
the 
whole 
issue, 
but 
rather 
changing 
yourself. 
11 
He 
who 
doesn't 
move 
his 
feet 
won't 
stumble, 
but 
he 
won't 
get 
ahead 
either. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
Change 
is 
good. 
OpportuniDes 
to 
change 
need 
to 
be 
followed 
by 
the 
acDon 
of 
changing. 
Remember 
that 
by 
doing 
what 
others 
will 
not, 
tomorrow 
you 
will 
be 
able 
to 
do 
what 
others 
simply 
can’t. 
“A 
man 
can 
fail 
many 
Dmes, 
but 
he 
isn't 
a 
failure 
unDl 
he 
begins 
to 
blame 
somebody 
else,” 
said 
John 
Burroughs. 
So 
what 
you 
need 
is 
to 
start 
seeing 
yourself 
as 
a 
winner. 
Believe 
it. 
Do 
things 
to 
change 
it.
Change yourself. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#10 
Ask 
the 
quesDon, 
what 
didn’t 
work 
out? 
Was 
it 
a 
job? 
EducaDon? 
Love 
life? 
OK. 
Now 
what 
did 
you 
do 
wrong? 
You 
hadn’t 
studied? 
You 
didn’t 
work 
hard 
enough 
or 
didn’t 
look 
confident 
enough 
for 
that 
interview? 
Or 
maybe 
you 
got 
too 
jealous 
and 
didn’t 
enjoy 
the 
one 
you 
were 
with? 
Worried 
too 
much? 
Then 
change. 
Stop 
the 
madness. 
Sit 
down 
and 
plan 
a 
course. 
A 
new 
course 
of 
study. 
Dress 
differently 
for 
the 
next 
meeDng. 
Prepare 
yourself. 
Open 
up 
to 
love. 
Take 
your 
dreams 
to 
the 
gym 
and 
workout, 
change, 
change, 
change. 
And 
make 
them 
happen. 
Which 
takes 
us 
to 
Lesson 
#11. 
11
Avoid being a perfectionist. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#11 
I 
started 
my 
internet 
company. 
I 
was 
full 
of 
energy. 
But 
people 
looked 
at 
me 
with 
that 
‘poor 
boy’ 
kind 
of 
look. 
Aper 
a 
couple 
of 
years, 
things 
came 
my 
way 
and 
suddenly 
for 
the 
same 
people 
I 
became 
a 
visionary. 
That 
is 
my 
story. 
But 
all 
along 
I 
knew 
that 
story 
couldn’t 
be 
perfect. 
As 
we 
previously 
discussed, 
acceptance 
is 
bliss. 
Knowing 
about 
the 
things 
we 
cannot 
change 
and 
accepDng 
them 
is 
truly 
bliss, 
because 
we 
can 
focus 
on 
11 
PerfecDonism, 
if 
not 
handled 
carefully, 
might 
as 
well 
end 
up 
being 
the 
germ 
that 
corrupts 
success 
and 
turns 
it 
into 
yet 
another 
failure. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
on 
what’s 
important. 
On 
what 
can 
be 
changed. 
One 
of 
the 
things 
we 
shouldn’t 
try 
to 
be, 
ever, 
is 
perfect. 
PerfecDon 
exists 
in 
the 
things 
of 
life 
but 
not 
in 
humans. 
The 
fact 
that 
we 
are 
changing 
all 
the 
Dme 
and 
that 
we 
live 
so 
randomly,
Avoid being a perfectionist. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#11 
without 
certainty 
of 
what’s 
to 
come, 
is 
proof. 
And 
since 
you 
can’t 
be 
perfect. 
Don’t 
try. 
Instead, 
aim 
for 
excellence. 
Try 
to 
be 
the 
best 
you 
can 
be, 
at 
that 
moment. 
Always 
strive 
for 
more. 
Fight 
for 
being 
just 
a 
liYle 
beYer. 
Aper 
all, 
if 
perfect 
existed 
and 
you 
were 
so 
smart 
and 
powerful 
that 
you 
could 
reach 
it 
when 
you 
were 
20 
and 
knew 
you 
would 
live 
to 
100 
years… 
what 
would 
you 
do 
for 
all 
the 
rest 
of 
the 
Dme? 
If 
perfect 
was 
possible, 
we 
wouldn’t 
have 
dreams 
to 
fight 
for. 
Which 
is 
hardly 
perfect. 
That 
is 
why 
Emile 
Zola 
used 
to 
say, 
“PerfecDon 
is 
such 
a 
nuisance 
that 
I 
open 
regret 
having 
cured 
myself 
of 
using 
tobacco.” 
Don’t 
lose 
valuable 
Dme 
trying 
to 
be 
perfect. 
As 
the 
old 
saying 
goes, 
“You’re 
on 
the 
road 
to 
success 
when 
you 
realize 
that 
failure 
is 
only 
a 
detour.” 
11
A failure is an incredible 
learning experience. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#12 
In 
our 
job 
of 
reframing 
failure 
I 
have 
come 
to 
say 
many 
Dmes 
that 
we 
should 
be 
logical. 
Being 
logical 
helps 
us 
understand 
things 
clearly, 
without 
sugar 
coaDng. 
So 
let’s 
try 
this 
other 
logical 
exercise: 
you 
set 
a 
goal, 
it 
worked. 
Then 
you 
learn 
what 
you 
should 
do 
to 
repeat 
success 
in 
your 
future 
projects. 
You 
have 
a 
formula. 
11 
Failure 
has 
to 
be 
thought 
of 
as 
a 
learning 
experience. 
Otherwise 
it’s 
just 
unbearable 
painful. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
If 
we 
do 
that 
with 
what’s 
good, 
why 
do 
we 
not 
do 
that 
with 
what’s 
bad, 
which 
is 
what 
we 
should 
truly 
tackle? 
If 
you 
set 
a 
goal 
and 
it 
didn’t 
work, 
then 
learn 
as 
well! 
It 
will 
teach 
you 
much 
more 
-­‐-­‐ 
knowing 
what 
you 
shouldn’t 
do 
again 
rather 
than 
knowing 
what 
you 
should 
repeat.
A failure is an incredible 
learning experience. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#12 
If 
you 
repeat 
a 
good 
step, 
circumstances 
might 
just 
not 
work 
out 
and 
you 
could 
sDll 
face 
failure. 
But 
if 
the 
first 
Jme 
failed, 
you 
know 
what 
not 
to 
do. 
And 
yes, 
you 
might 
fail 
again 
but 
never 
for 
the 
same 
reasons. 
Failure 
truly 
is 
an 
incredible 
learning 
experience. 
Every 
single 
Dme 
you 
start 
a 
project, 
you 
should 
have 
your 
mind 
set 
on 
victory 
and 
a 
backup 
plan 
in 
case 
it 
eludes 
you. 
In 
fact, 
you 
should 
plan 
failures 
and 
what 
you 
will 
learn 
from 
them 
more 
than 
victories. 
The 
real 
problem 
aper 
all 
is 
not 
making 
a 
mistake, 
but 
learning 
nothing 
from 
it. 
Every 
Dme 
life 
knocks 
you 
down, 
you 
should 
not 
only 
stand 
up 
straight 
and 
walk 
again 
but 
also 
take 
something 
with 
you. 
You 
learn 
a 
lot 
from 
your 
mistakes 
and 
maybe 
not 
as 
much 
from 
your 
successes. 
Anton 
Chekhov 
used 
to 
say, 
“One 
must 
be 
a 
God 
to 
be 
able 
to 
tell 
successes 
from 
failures 
without 
making 
a 
mistake.” 
It’s 
all 
a 
learning 
process. 
11
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#13 
Try it. 
If 
one’s 
dream 
is 
clear 
and 
it’s 
a 
hearuelt 
dream, 
all 
failed 
aYempts 
are 
roads. 
Those 
roads 
are 
obviously 
not 
taking 
me 
to 
my 
desDnaDon 
but 
they 
are 
not 
driving 
me 
away. 
Think 
of 
it 
as 
a 
long 
road 
that 
you 
have 
to 
go 
through 
to 
finish 
a 
long, 
long 
trip. 
At 
Dmes, 
the 
road 
will 
get 
dark, 
especially 
at 
night 
and 
lights 
will 
tell 
you 
to 
turn 
around. 
Yet 
when 
the 
day 
comes 
you 
go 
back 
to 
your 
road. 
And 
so 
it 
goes. 
11 
The 
only 
way 
to 
become 
an 
expert 
is 
through 
experience. 
And 
many 
Dmes, 
when 
experimenDng, 
we 
fail. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
Never 
stopping 
and 
meeDng 
people 
and 
learning 
things 
on 
the 
way 
to 
your 
fate. 
The 
dream 
is 
sJll 
there. 
You 
are 
sDll 
the 
driver. 
You 
have 
been 
detoured 
but 
you’re 
not 
lost. 
The 
more 
detours 
you 
take, 
the 
more 
you 
learn 
and 
the 
closer 
you 
are 
to 
finding 
the 
right 
path.
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#13 
Try it. 
Again, 
every 
failure 
has 
a 
reason 
and 
isn’t 
random. 
Maybe 
you 
met 
someone 
criDcal 
to 
your 
success. 
Maybe 
it 
gave 
you 
a 
new 
skill. 
Or 
made 
you 
stronger 
-­‐ 
your 
most 
inner 
fibers 
were 
made 
tougher. 
Or 
who 
knows, 
maybe 
what 
you 
wanted 
wasn’t 
there 
yet 
and 
you 
needed 
to 
rest. 
Failure 
is 
sort 
of 
like 
luck, 
energy 
wise. 
It’s 
a 
big 
leap 
that 
the 
universe 
makes 
you 
take 
when 
you 
are 
about 
to 
lose 
your 
way. 
It 
sets 
you 
back 
on 
track. 
Aper 
all, 
like 
Walter 
Bagehot 
said, 
“The 
greatest 
pleasure 
in 
life 
is 
doing 
what 
people 
say 
you 
cannot 
do.” 
Proving 
people 
wrong 
might 
be 
one 
of 
the 
strongest 
driving 
forces. 
It 
pushes 
you. 
It’s 
the 
floor 
from 
which 
to 
jump. 
11
A floor from which to jump. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#14 
I 
honestly 
believe 
mistakes 
touch 
an 
inDmate 
part 
of 
everyone. 
I 
am 
no 
stranger 
to 
failure. 
And 
I 
have 
suffered 
for 
it 
but 
was 
able 
to 
get 
back 
on 
my 
feet. 
There 
is 
truly 
no 
other 
way 
to 
explain 
why 
we 
are 
so 
afraid 
of 
failing, 
than 
thinking 
there 
must 
be 
a 
spot 
in 
our 
brains 
that 
failure 
touches 
in 
a 
way 
no 
other 
feeling 
does. 
11 
PerspecDve 
is 
everything. 
You 
can 
either 
see 
failure 
as 
the 
roof 
that 
cuts 
your 
possibiliDes 
or 
you 
can 
see 
it 
as 
a 
floor 
from 
which 
to 
take 
another 
jump. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
But 
even 
if 
there 
is 
something 
prevenDng 
us 
from 
jumping, 
we 
sDll 
have 
our 
free 
will 
to 
do 
whatever 
pleases 
us. 
We 
can 
be 
paralyzed 
or 
moving. 
Which 
will 
you 
choose? 
Staying 
put 
or 
dreaming 
big? 
Give 
perspecJve 
a 
chance.
A floor from which to jump. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#14 
Think 
of 
yourself 
in 
a 
four-­‐walled 
room. 
The 
ceiling 
is 
there 
and 
you 
want 
desperately 
to 
see 
a 
storm 
of 
shooDng 
stars. 
But 
the 
concrete 
roof 
is 
blocking 
you. 
Now 
you 
could 
stay 
there 
and 
miss 
the 
beauty 
of 
nature 
and 
its 
gips. 
But 
there 
are 
stairs 
and 
you 
go 
up, 
you 
open 
a 
door 
and 
put 
your 
feet 
on 
the 
roof. 
You 
step 
on 
it. 
And 
now, 
logic 
says 
that 
if 
it 
is 
below 
your 
feet, 
it’s 
no 
longer 
a 
ceiling 
right? 
It’s 
just 
a 
floor. 
Floors 
give 
us 
comfort 
and 
support. 
Ceilings 
put 
a 
stop 
to 
our 
view, 
while 
floors 
allow 
us 
to 
find 
ground. 
Look 
at 
the 
stars 
now. 
You 
didn’t 
miss 
them. 
And 
the 
sky 
is 
the 
limit. 
Because, 
“when 
you 
fall, 
you 
shouldn’t 
get 
up 
empty 
handed.” 
Make 
this 
unknown 
author’s 
thought 
a 
mantra, 
an 
anthem. 
Step 
on 
the 
ceiling 
that 
blocks 
you 
and 
transform 
it 
into 
your 
new 
floor, 
from 
which 
to 
jump 
to 
new 
heights. 
11
The hidden power of laughter. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#15 
A 
few 
lessons 
ago, 
we 
tried 
to 
imagine 
what 
it 
was 
like 
to 
have 
a 
full 
stadium 
of 
people 
laughing 
at 
our 
expense. 
Our 
dream 
crashed 
by 
the 
sound 
of 
their 
mocking, 
their 
amusement. 
Now 
if 
it 
somewhat 
lep 
you 
unseYled, 
try 
what 
I 
said 
earlier: 
if 
everybody 
does 
the 
same 
thing, 
it 
becomes 
normal, 
regular. 
For 
example, 
let’s 
say 
you’re 
a 
runner. 
11 
Having 
failed 
can 
also 
be 
considered 
a 
great 
victory: 
you’ve 
defeated 
the 
fear 
of 
trying. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
Then, 
the 
enDre 
world 
starts 
running. 
And 
running 
becomes 
today’s 
walking. 
Then 
running 
just 
doesn’t 
exist 
anymore. 
Because 
walking 
that 
fast 
is 
the 
new 
walking. 
Now 
go 
back 
to 
imagine 
the 
laughter. 
Imagine 
that 
you 
start 
laughing 
with 
them, 
at 
how 
crazy 
your 
dream 
was.
The hidden power of laughter. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#15 
By 
the 
end, 
you’re 
the 
only 
one 
laughing. 
You’re 
laughing 
at 
an 
enDre 
stadium 
who 
didn’t 
understand 
that 
dreaming 
is 
the 
only 
road 
to 
achieve. 
It’s 
the 
step 
prior 
to 
starDng 
to 
build. 
So 
take 
things 
lightly, 
make 
jokes 
about 
it, 
and 
don’t 
be 
so 
serious. 
Relax 
and 
enjoy. 
Life 
will 
start 
flowing 
easily 
when 
you 
do. 
Aper 
all, 
life 
is 
a 
finite 
moment 
and 
just 
as 
we 
have 
to 
choose 
between 
ciDzenship 
in 
Failureland 
or 
Victoryland, 
we 
need 
to 
choose 
if 
we 
want 
to 
spend 
it 
worrying 
or 
enjoying. 
So 
it 
didn’t 
work 
out 
this 
Dme? 
Then 
it 
will 
the 
next 
Dme, 
with 
what 
you’ve 
learned 
from 
this 
fall. 
Nothing 
is 
really 
THAT 
serious. 
Compared 
with 
death, 
which 
is 
the 
only 
unavoidable 
part 
of 
life, 
everything 
is 
vane 
to 
worry 
about. 
If 
you 
can 
be 
posiDve 
you’re 
capable, 
then 
failing 
will 
be 
just 
one 
more 
step, 
like 
a 
staDon 
in 
the 
train 
road. 
11
The hidden power of laughter. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#15 
The 
track 
is 
sDll 
long 
and 
you 
got 
many 
more 
staDons, 
more 
likeable, 
less 
likeable. 
In 
the 
meanDme, 
laugh 
and 
prepare 
yourself 
for 
victory. 
Samuel 
Smiles, 
who 
had 
a 
very 
interesDng 
last 
name, 
said, 
“It 
is 
a 
mistake 
to 
suppose 
that 
men 
succeed 
through 
success; 
they 
much 
opener 
succeed 
through 
failures. 
Precept, 
study, 
advice 
and 
example 
could 
never 
have 
taught 
them 
so 
well 
as 
failure 
has 
done.” 
Take 
his 
lesson. 
11
What luck really means. 
But 
luck 
is 
just 
that, 
the 
quantum 
leap 
that 
appears 
like 
a 
hidden, 
transparent 
hand, 
but 
is 
a 
reflecDon 
of 
us 
truly 
believing 
in 
ourselves. 
It 
comes 
when 
we 
most 
need 
it 
and 
it 
comes 
to 
help 
our 
minds 
be 
clear 
again. 
Depending 
on 
every 
situaDon, 
it 
is 
very 
helpful 
for 
very 
different 
reasons. 
But 
at 
the 
end, 
luck 
is 
all 
the 
Dme 
the 
same. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#16 
Does 
luck 
really 
exist? 
Luck 
is 
defined 
as 
a 
random 
event 
that 
is 
posiDve, 
like 
something 
that 
JUST 
happens, 
without 
cause, 
without 
any 
reason 
and 
leaves 
just 
as 
fast 
as 
it 
happens. 
But 
I 
don’t 
believe 
that 
luck 
exists, 
not 
in 
that 
form. 
I 
actually 
believe 
the 
universe 
is 
on 
our 
side, 
all 
the 
Dme, 
and 
we 
just 
make 
it 
harder 
for 
it 
to 
help 
us. 
So 
when 
the 
Dme 
requires 
it, 
if 
our 
energy 
and 
heart 
are 
in 
the 
right 
places 
but 
our 
mind 
is 
clouded, 
then 
the 
universe 
conspires 
and 
gives 
us 
‘luck.’ 
11 
Scars 
of 
defeat 
show 
the 
willingness 
to 
reach 
glory. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“
What luck really means. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#16 
A 
clearer 
of 
our 
brains, 
so 
we 
can 
see 
what 
our 
souls 
already 
saw. 
Luck 
accommodates 
us. 
It’s 
like 
an 
energy 
boost 
in 
a 
game 
that 
sets 
us 
back 
on 
track 
when 
our 
fate 
is 
not 
being 
fulfilled. 
Garry 
Kasparov 
always 
said, 
“Luck 
helps 
the 
champion,” 
and 
it 
is 
true. 
Nothing 
happens 
BECAUSE 
of 
luck. 
It 
happens 
because 
it 
was 
right 
and 
luck 
was 
just 
there 
to 
help 
us 
realize 
it. 
But 
without 
will 
of 
victory, 
without 
hunger 
for 
glory, 
nothing 
will 
truly 
be 
there. 
Luck 
will 
be 
running 
aper 
us 
and 
we 
will 
miss 
it. 
“There 
are 
defeats 
more 
triumphant 
than 
victories,” 
goes 
the 
saying 
by 
Michel 
de 
Montaigne. 
And 
we 
should 
believe 
so. 
Some 
victories 
are 
just 
that 
but 
some 
defeats 
are 
like 
double 
successes. 
We 
get 
through 
them 
to 
our 
goal. 
And 
we 
conquer 
the 
defeat 
itself. 
11
Be a good student and build 
out from your weaknesses. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#17 
It 
sounds 
easy 
that 
I 
say 
all 
I’ve 
said, 
without 
actual 
tools. 
I 
already 
menDoned 
that 
we 
should 
always 
plan 
ahead, 
so 
we 
know 
where 
to 
look 
to 
learn. 
And 
the 
only 
way 
of 
learning, 
the 
only 
pracDcal 
way, 
is 
from 
weaknesses. 
Speeches 
and 
phrases 
are 
good, 
but 
what 
I 
truly 
want 
you 
to 
be 
driven 
by 
is 
acDon. 
11 
When 
you 
fail, 
be 
smart 
enough 
to 
be 
a 
good 
student. 
Failure 
open 
is 
your 
best 
teacher. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
These 
lessons 
are 
for 
waking 
up 
but 
then 
they 
are 
nothing 
if 
they 
are 
not 
applied. 
So 
when 
you 
fall, 
think: 
“What 
did 
I 
do 
wrong?” 
And 
then 
when 
you 
find 
the 
answer, 
try 
to 
think 
of 
what 
lies 
beneath.
Be a good student and build 
out from your weaknesses. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#17 
Did 
you 
fail 
because 
you 
weren’t 
prepared? 
You 
weren’t 
strong 
enough? 
You 
should 
have 
been 
more 
responsible? 
What 
are 
the 
weaknesses 
that 
made 
you 
crumble? 
Again, 
it’s 
fairly 
logical. 
You 
can’t 
get 
beaer 
at 
anything 
in 
life, 
if 
you 
don’t 
even 
know 
what 
it 
is. 
Failure 
is 
the 
only 
available 
window. 
If 
you 
do 
great 
every 
single 
Dme, 
without 
even 
an 
inch 
of 
failure, 
you 
have 
no 
way 
of 
knowing 
or 
being 
prepared 
for 
when 
the 
streak 
of 
victories 
runs 
out. 
So 
toughen 
up 
through 
your 
weaknesses. 
Look 
at 
them 
right 
in 
the 
eyes, 
face 
them 
and 
don’t 
run. 
Just 
the 
opposite, 
you 
need 
to 
internalize 
them 
and 
start 
working 
on 
changing 
them. 
When 
you 
get 
to 
conquer 
them 
all, 
you 
will 
be 
the 
strongest 
warrior. 
Nothing 
will 
pierce 
your 
armor 
and 
you 
will 
be 
able 
to 
defeat 
even 
the 
largest 
armies, 
single-­‐handedly. 
11
Be a good student and build 
out from your weaknesses. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#17 
There 
is 
a 
wise 
Yiddish 
proverb 
that 
says, 
“He 
who 
lies 
on 
the 
ground 
cannot 
fall.” 
And 
come 
on, 
where 
else 
would 
you 
go 
if 
you 
were 
already 
are 
at 
the 
boYom? 
Rest 
there, 
look 
up 
and 
see 
where 
you 
need 
to 
go 
and 
use 
the 
space 
to 
learn 
about 
who 
you 
are. 
11
Learn about yourself - ‘I’ve 
never… bragged’ 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#18 
That 
you 
need 
to 
know 
yourself 
sounds 
fairly 
smart 
right? 
It 
also 
sounds 
silly 
to 
some 
people, 
because 
they 
think 
‘you 
already 
know 
yourself, 
from 
the 
start.’ 
But 
that 
is 
quite 
far 
from 
the 
truth. 
In 
fact, 
humans 
are 
fearful 
but 
they 
are 
also 
blind 
and 
confident. 
We 
are 
all 
afraid 
of 
failing 
but 
we 
also 
think 
we 
are 
the 
best 
ones 
and 
have 
a 
very 
hard 
Dme 
seeing 
beyond 
our 
own 
egos. 
11 
He 
who 
always 
brags, 
‘I’ve 
never 
failed 
in 
my 
life,’ 
most 
probably 
won’t 
have 
achieved 
anything 
that 
makes 
him 
proud. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
So 
when 
we 
first 
fail, 
our 
world 
kind 
of 
crumbles 
under 
our 
feet. 
We 
didn’t 
know 
ourselves 
that 
well 
aper 
all, 
did 
we? 
From 
defeat, 
the 
most 
important 
thing 
of 
all 
items 
to 
pick 
up, 
the 
biggest 
lesson 
to 
take 
home, 
is 
what 
you 
learn 
about 
yourself.
Learn about yourself - ‘I’ve 
never… bragged’ 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#18 
Mistakes, 
bumps, 
failures, 
they 
all 
show 
you 
who 
you 
truly 
are, 
how 
you 
react 
to 
adversity, 
if 
you 
need 
more 
Dme 
or 
if 
you’re 
ready 
to 
tackle 
even 
bigger 
dreams. 
Knowing 
your 
flaws 
also 
makes 
the 
strengths 
stronger. 
Now 
you 
know 
what 
to 
change. 
And 
just 
as 
weaknesses 
you 
learn 
about 
yourself 
are 
the 
starDng 
point 
from 
which 
to 
be 
a 
beYer 
self, 
your 
strengths 
are 
the 
tools 
you 
will 
use 
to 
get 
there. 
See 
these 
examples: 
Are 
you 
shy 
and 
have 
no 
confidence 
when 
you 
approach 
people 
but 
you 
have 
good 
wriDng 
skills? 
Jump 
to 
starDng 
your 
own 
blog; 
tell 
the 
world 
your 
ideas. 
You 
know 
what 
will 
happen? 
People 
will 
read 
you 
and 
comment 
about 
how 
much 
of 
a 
great 
person 
you 
seem 
to 
be, 
that 
you 
should 
do 
more 
and 
help 
people 
through 
your 
words. 
And 
they 
will 
listen. 
11
Learn about yourself - ‘I’ve 
never… bragged’ 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#18 
Or, 
are 
you 
super 
anxious 
all 
the 
Dme, 
nervous 
and 
you 
lost 
an 
interview 
because 
of 
it? 
And 
they 
told 
you 
it 
seemed 
like 
you 
were 
very 
loyal 
and 
hard-­‐working 
but 
the 
job 
required 
you 
to 
stay 
strong 
under 
difficult, 
long-­‐term 
situaDons 
and 
your 
anxiety 
was 
going 
to 
be 
bad? 
There 
it 
is! 
Your 
strength 
is 
that 
you 
are 
loyal, 
you 
are 
reliable. 
Go 
meet 
clients, 
start 
your 
own 
firm. 
Set 
your 
own 
pace. 
Show 
that 
anxiety 
also 
means 
fast 
results. 
And 
now 
you 
the 
one 
always 
delivering 
them 
as 
promised. 
Change 
your 
world. 
And 
then 
you’ll 
change 
the 
world. 
Failure 
is 
a 
maYer 
of 
aTtude, 
so 
you 
beYer 
check 
within 
yourself. 
“No 
man 
ever 
became 
great 
or 
good 
except 
through 
many 
and 
great 
mistakes,” 
William 
E. 
Gladstone 
said. 
And 
he 
was 
SO 
right. 
There’s 
no 
other 
way. 
11
Change your strategy. Try once 
more. 
So 
you 
have 
tried 
and 
tried. 
But 
did 
you 
learn 
anything? 
Have 
you 
changed? 
Or 
is 
your 
life 
more 
like 
ongoing 
déjà 
vu, 
always 
repeaDng 
the 
story? 
OK 
then. 
Sit 
down 
and 
start 
looking 
back 
at 
what 
you 
did 
wrong. 
No 
judgments. 
No 
punishing. 
Learn. 
Look 
again. 
What 
are 
you 
repeaDng? 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#19 
So 
you 
are 
now 
saying, 
“I 
have 
done 
all 
this.” 
I 
believed. 
And 
I 
failed. 
I 
was 
ready. 
And 
I 
failed. 
Well 
you 
should 
know 
humans 
are 
the 
only 
species 
that 
makes 
the 
same 
mistake 
over 
and 
over 
again. 
Albert 
Einstein 
used 
to 
go 
further 
and 
said 
that 
not 
only 
do 
we 
make 
the 
same 
mistakes 
over 
and 
over 
again, 
but 
we 
expect 
different 
results. 
11 
One 
thing 
is 
to 
have 
failed. 
A 
very 
different 
thing 
is 
to 
consider 
yourself 
a 
failure. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“
Change your strategy. Try once 
more. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#19 
George 
Bernard 
Shaw 
once 
said, 
“Success 
does 
not 
consist 
in 
never 
making 
mistakes 
but 
in 
never 
making 
the 
same 
one 
a 
second 
Dme.” 
And 
there 
is 
no 
purer 
truth. 
Make 
thousands 
of 
mistakes. 
Just 
don’t 
make 
the 
same 
ones. 
Don’t 
be 
fixated, 
learn. 
Aper 
all, 
if 
you 
haven’t 
tried, 
how 
will 
you 
succeed? 
Think 
of 
life 
as 
the 
biggest 
quesDon 
of 
all. 
And 
we 
all 
know 
that 
quesDons 
that 
are 
not 
asked 
already 
have 
“NO” 
as 
their 
answer. 
So 
ask. 
Ask 
a 
lot. 
Dream. 
Learn. 
Try. 
Jump. 
11
The “Not Losing” Strategy. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#20 
Almost 
everyone 
in 
the 
world 
choose, 
consciously 
or 
unconsciously, 
the 
strategy 
that 
I 
call 
of 
“Not 
Losing.” 
I 
mean, 
you 
must 
have 
wondered 
why 
there 
are 
so 
few 
humans 
that 
are 
incredibly 
famous, 
rich, 
and/or 
successful, 
right? 
Why 
are 
there 
so 
few 
movie 
stars? 
Why 
are 
CEOs 
so 
important? 
Well, 
exactly 
because 
most 
people 
tend 
to 
take 
a 
different 
strategy 
than 
that 
of 
taking 
a 
leap 
forward, 
to 
the 
unknown. 
11 
No 
failure 
is 
mortal 
if 
it 
doesn’t 
take 
your 
will 
to 
try 
again. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
Successful 
people 
take, 
“The 
Yes 
to 
Winning,” 
approach. 
They 
are 
not 
daredevils 
who 
aren’t 
afraid 
of 
losing. 
They’re 
afraid 
too. 
But 
they 
prefer 
to 
see 
each 
chance 
as 
a 
way 
of 
winning. 
Instead 
of 
the 
people 
who 
say, 
“I’d 
rather 
not 
lose.”
The “Not Losing” Strategy. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#20 
Can 
you 
change 
from 
one 
to 
the 
other? 
Yes, 
of 
course. 
But 
you 
need 
to 
be 
aware 
of 
why 
you 
are 
picking 
the 
negaDve 
strategy 
in 
the 
first 
place. 
Most 
of 
us 
hate 
rejecJon. 
We 
have 
thoughts 
about 
success 
and 
making 
mistakes. 
Big 
‘winners’ 
also 
hate 
rejecDon. 
But 
they 
know 
how 
to 
handle 
it. 
They 
learned 
how 
to 
handle 
rejecDon 
and 
failures 
and 
if 
they 
can 
do 
it, 
so 
can 
you. 
If 
rejecDon 
paralyzes 
you 
and 
makes 
you 
avoid 
doing 
something, 
then 
you’re 
‘not 
losing.’ 
Actually 
‘not 
losing’ 
means 
‘already 
lost.’ 
If 
you 
don’t 
do 
anything 
to 
achieve 
something, 
oh 
well, 
you’re 
sure 
not 
going 
to 
achieve 
it. 
That’s 
the 
only 
thing 
for 
sure. 
‘Not 
losing’ 
in 
my 
mind 
sounds 
like 
‘I’m 
losing 
for 
sure.’ 
Now 
people 
who 
chose 
to 
take 
risks 
and 
pick 
the 
‘winning’ 
strategy 
are 
aware 
that 
things 
can 
go 
bad, 
that 
their 
acDons 
might 
not 
take 
them 
where 
they 
want. 
But 
they 
trust 
themselves 
and 
their 
fortune. 
11
The “Not Losing” Strategy. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#20 
They 
are 
true 
believers 
that 
whatever 
happens, 
it’s 
for 
the 
best. 
They 
consider 
what 
can 
happen 
if 
things 
don’t 
work 
out. 
They 
evaluate, 
“what’s 
the 
worst 
thing 
that 
can 
happen 
to 
me 
if 
it 
doesn’t 
work?” 
And 
the 
answer 
doesn’t 
scare 
them. 
Fear 
makes 
the 
difference. 
It’s 
what 
makes 
you 
choose 
the 
wrong 
strategy. 
So 
you 
need 
to 
learn 
to 
manage 
your 
fear. 
You 
have 
to 
know 
how 
to 
handle 
it 
in 
order 
to 
win. 
Aper 
all… 
you 
can 
always 
go 
back 
easily 
to 
your 
limited 
mental 
box 
whenever 
you 
want. 
“We 
climb 
to 
heaven 
most 
open 
on 
the 
ruins 
of 
our 
cherished 
plans, 
finding 
our 
failures 
were 
successes,” 
said 
Amos 
Bronson 
AlcoY. 
It’s 
all 
perspecJve. 
11
Your attitude should be to 
move your feet. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#21 
Life 
is 
full 
of 
moments 
that 
you 
can 
explain 
through 
metaphors. 
So 
what 
are 
some 
broken 
eggs, 
when 
referring 
to 
failure, 
when 
you 
actually 
get 
to 
keep 
the 
hen 
that 
lays 
them? 
If 
you 
only 
focus 
on 
the 
eggs 
you’ve 
broken, 
then 
your 
focus 
is 
wrong. 
Instead, 
focus 
on 
what 
really 
needs 
aYenDon: 
the 
next 
step. 
Open 
your 
eyes, 
see 
things 
in 
perspecDve 
and 
don’t 
let 
even 
your 
own 
negaDve 
aTtude 
be 
defeaDng. 
11 
He 
who 
doesn’t 
move 
his 
feet 
will 
not 
fall. 
But 
he 
will 
also 
not 
move 
forward. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
Failure 
will 
not 
be 
there 
forever. 
It’s 
just 
a 
staDon 
like 
we 
said. 
Move 
on. 
Keep 
travelling. 
Tripping 
does 
not 
mean 
falling. 
Nobody 
is 
perfect. 
It’s 
all 
in 
the 
aTtude. 
What 
doesn’t 
kill 
you 
makes 
you 
stronger.
Your attitude should be to 
move your feet. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#21 
All 
of 
those 
sayings 
are 
true 
and 
they 
should 
push 
you 
to 
understand 
that 
no 
maYer 
what 
you 
do, 
if 
you’re 
focused, 
you 
can 
make 
it 
even 
ager 
all 
the 
falls. 
Now 
if 
you 
see 
failure 
negaDvely 
every 
Dme 
you 
encounter 
it, 
then 
it 
is 
also 
real. 
Without 
acDng, 
moving 
your 
feet, 
you 
would 
never 
find 
your 
way 
out. 
It’s 
all 
in 
your 
aTtude. 
You 
see 
yourself 
as 
a 
loser? 
Then 
you 
will 
be 
losing 
all 
the 
Dme. 
Unfortunate 
events 
will 
ALWAYS 
happen, 
so 
instead 
of 
trying 
to 
avoid 
them, 
let 
them 
come 
and 
fight 
them 
and 
make 
them 
your 
own. 
Successful 
people 
take 
failures 
as 
background 
noise, 
as 
something 
that 
will 
always 
be 
there. 
And 
for 
unsuccessful 
people, 
it’s 
like 
music. 
Failures 
are 
like 
the 
toll 
in 
the 
highway. 
The 
highway 
is 
something 
that 
helps 
you 
to 
get 
safer, 
faster, 
and 
smoother 
to 
your 
desDnaDon. 
And 
the 
toll 
is 
the 
price 
to 
enjoy 
that. 
But 
if 
you 
decide 
to 
avoid 
the 
toll, 
there’s 
no 
way 
to 
get 
there. 
You 
just 
stay 
where 
you 
are. 
Numb. 
11
Your attitude should be to 
move your feet. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#21 
Atude 
makes 
such 
a 
difference 
that 
even 
in 
the 
words 
of 
two 
people, 
aTtude 
makes 
the 
enDre 
difference. 
While 
a 
loser 
would 
tell 
himself 
that 
he 
could 
never 
make 
it 
again 
and 
that 
he 
should 
quit, 
someone 
successful 
would 
see 
this 
as 
what 
not 
to 
do. 
In 
people 
who 
believe 
they 
are 
losers, 
failure 
is 
just 
a 
way 
of 
telling 
‘yes, 
I 
am.’ 
For 
victorious 
people, 
it’s 
circumstanDal. 
What 
you 
should 
know 
is 
that 
just 
like 
there’s 
never 
a 
good 
Dme 
to 
get 
sick, 
there’s 
never 
a 
good 
Dme 
for 
‘this 
project,’ 
or 
‘just 
now.’ 
Things 
need 
to 
happen 
because 
you 
want 
them 
to, 
not 
because 
it 
is 
the 
right 
Dme. 
It 
will 
never 
be. 
The 
right 
Dme 
is 
in 
your 
hands. 
A 
friend 
of 
mine, 
who 
has 
a 
design 
company 
(and 
in 
fact 
most 
business 
people) 
has 
a 
process 
in 
which 
a 
certain 
amount 
of 
errors 
are 
permiYed, 
in 
order 
to 
be 
prepared 
in 
case 
they 
actually 
happen. 
Errors 
being 
a 
part 
of 
his 
processes 
make 
the 
processes 
beYer. 
11
Your attitude should be to 
move your feet. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#21 
And 
it’s 
not 
like 
he 
goes 
and 
makes 
them 
on 
purpose. 
But 
he’s 
ready 
in 
case 
they 
happen. 
And 
he 
learns 
and 
they 
never 
happen 
again. 
It’s 
not 
what 
happens, 
but 
what 
you 
do 
with 
it. 
It’s 
not 
if 
you 
failed, 
but 
if 
you 
feel 
like 
a 
loser. 
It’s 
not 
the 
cards 
you 
get, 
but 
how 
you 
play 
the 
hand. 
Just 
like 
George 
Canning’s 
phrase, 
“Indecision 
and 
delays 
are 
the 
parents 
of 
failure.” 
Don’t 
feed 
them! 
11
Say NO. The Best is yet to come. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#22 
One 
of 
the 
last 
things 
I 
want 
you 
to 
learn 
is 
to 
reject 
things. 
Learn 
to 
say 
no. 
Reject 
projects 
if 
they 
don’t 
go 
your 
way. 
Don’t 
do 
things 
because 
“you 
have 
to.” 
When 
learning 
to 
deal 
with 
rejecDon, 
you’ll 
become 
smarter 
when 
you 
say 
NO 
without 
guilt. 
SomeDmes 
you 
take 
tasks 
or 
project 
that 
you 
don’t 
like, 
just 
because 
others 
ask 
for 
it. 
Why 
don’t 
you 
say 
no 
without 
feeling 
guilty? 
11 
Success, 
just 
like 
failure 
should 
be 
taken 
lightly. 
In 
both 
cases, 
the 
best 
is 
yet 
to 
come. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
We’re 
not 
used 
to 
saying 
NO 
to 
people 
asking. 
Respect 
yourself, 
your 
Jme, 
and 
your 
energy. 
How 
do 
you 
say 
NO 
without 
feeling 
guilty? 
Well, 
check 
out 
this 
story 
that 
happened 
to 
me 
a 
while 
ago.
Say NO. The Best is yet to come. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#22 
The 
phone 
rang 
and 
the 
secretary 
took 
the 
call. 
Aper 
a 
funny 
conversaDon 
with 
the 
caller, 
she 
hung 
up. 
The 
ice 
was 
broken 
in 
the 
room 
so 
she 
said, 
‘she 
wanted 
to 
come 
now, 
but 
she 
needs 
to 
book 
an 
hour, 
as 
the 
doctor 
is 
super 
busy. 
Last 
week 
for 
example, 
a 
person 
called 
for 
another 
denDst 
and 
was 
given 
an 
hour 
for 
a 
couple 
days 
later. 
She 
called 
to 
ask 
and 
the 
doctor, 
always 
busy, 
had 
only 
space 
three 
weeks 
from 
the 
date.’ 
She 
ended 
up 
telling 
us 
that 
even 
with 
space, 
it 
isn’t 
good 
to 
show 
you 
actually 
have 
hours 
lep, 
because 
having 
no 
paDents 
means 
there’s 
something 
wrong. 
So 
in 
all 
stages 
in 
life, 
someDmes 
it’s 
beYer 
to 
say, 
“I 
can’t 
help 
you 
right 
now, 
I’m 
booked 
unDl… 
If 
you 
can 
wait, 
I’ll 
be 
more 
than 
glad 
to 
work 
in 
your 
project.” 
“A 
minute's 
success 
pays 
the 
failure 
of 
years,” 
Robert 
Browning 
once 
thought. 
Think 
about 
it 
when 
you 
read 
my 
last 
lesson. 
11
Determination. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#23 
The 
reason 
why 
I 
am 
finishing 
these 
lessons 
with 
one 
word, 
determinaDon, 
is 
because 
of 
its 
power. 
Like 
my 
quote 
below 
states, 
I 
truly 
would 
rather 
go 
against 
someone 
with 
more 
money, 
or 
more 
skills, 
but 
not 
someone 
with 
a 
goal 
set 
in 
stone 
and 
who 
has 
more 
determinaDon 
than 
I 
do. 
DeterminaJon 
is 
power. 
It 
is 
energy. 
Drive. 
DeterminaDon 
is 
what 
pushes 
us 
even 
beyond 
our 
wildest 
and 
most 
fearful 
moments. 
It 
puts 
the 
past 
behind 
because 
it 
moves 
us 
to 
the 
future. 
11 
I’d 
rather 
compete 
against 
a 
more 
talented 
individual, 
than 
someone 
more 
determined 
than 
me. 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
“ 
Remember 
when 
you 
learned 
to 
ride 
a 
bike? 
Remember 
that 
moment 
and 
think 
of 
jumping 
to 
needing 
to 
learn 
how 
to 
ski. 
Completely 
different, 
out 
of 
the 
one 
comfort 
zone 
you 
had. 
The 
terrain 
is 
steeper, 
there’s 
no 
concrete,
Determination. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#23 
it’s 
cold, 
you’re 
wearing 
lots 
of 
clothes, 
you 
need 
to 
move 
to 
the 
sides, 
no 
way 
to 
stop 
but 
with 
your 
body. 
All 
of 
a 
sudden 
you 
need 
to 
act 
different 
and 
think 
different. 
Obviously, 
results 
are 
also 
different. 
Thinking 
outside 
of 
the 
box, 
being 
determined, 
is 
what 
will 
get 
you 
through 
that 
task, 
or 
any 
task 
you 
set 
for 
yourself. 
Changing 
your 
mindset 
and 
going 
from 
the 
loser’s 
mind 
to 
that 
of 
the 
victorious, 
is 
the 
same. 
When 
you 
start, 
you 
might 
not 
know 
if 
you’ll 
do 
it 
right. 
Or 
if 
you 
ever 
will. 
But 
there 
is 
what 
I 
call 
a 
‘moment 
of 
truth,’ 
a 
second 
in 
the 
hours 
and 
days 
and 
months 
of 
baYles 
in 
which 
you 
just 
realize... 
You 
can 
do 
it. 
There’s 
a 
chance. 
And 
failure 
and 
the 
fear 
of 
it 
is 
gone. 
You 
reminiscence 
about 
the 
past 
and 
remember 
how 
you 
thought 
it 
would 
be 
hard, 
impossible. 
But 
you 
are 
already 
leaving 
that 
in 
the 
rear-­‐view 
mirror, 
full 
speed 
ahead 
to 
the 
future. 
Aper 
the 
moment 
of 
truth, 
whenever 
you 
fall, 
you’ll 
know 
it’s 
just 
a 
bump, 
but 
no 
longer 
a 
crash. 
11
Determination. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#23 
“Failure 
will 
never 
overtake 
me 
if 
my 
determinaDon 
to 
succeed 
is 
strong 
enough.” 
Og 
Mandino 
was 
right. 
It’s 
what 
takes 
us 
to 
jump 
into 
the 
river 
and 
cross 
to 
the 
other 
side. 
And 
when 
the 
waves 
get 
rougher, 
I 
sDll 
go 
for 
them. 
Blinded 
by 
determinaDon. 
It’s 
courage. 
Embracing 
the 
need 
for 
success. 
It’s 
being 
convinced 
to 
the 
bone, 
the 
unbreakable 
willingness 
to 
conDnue. 
No 
way 
back. 
Oscar 
Wilde 
has 
an 
outstanding 
quote 
for 
it: 
“Experience 
is 
simply 
the 
name 
we 
give 
our 
mistakes.” 
And 
yes, 
someDmes 
you 
win, 
someDmes 
you 
lose. 
Knowing 
it 
is 
the 
real 
game. 
Knowing 
it 
and 
sDll 
risking 
it 
all, 
going 
all 
in, 
is 
the 
real 
victory. 
11
Determination. 
“Reframing 
Failure” 
-­‐ 
Gonzo 
Arzuaga 
Lesson 
#23 
So 
I 
leave 
you 
with 
a 
poem 
I 
heard 
someone 
say 
to 
someone 
else 
a 
long 
Dme 
ago: 
"I 
wish 
you 
enough 
sun 
to 
keep 
your 
aTtude 
bright. 
I 
wish 
you 
enough 
rain 
to 
appreciate 
the 
sun 
more. 
I 
wish 
you 
enough 
happiness 
to 
keep 
your 
spirit 
alive. 
I 
wish 
you 
enough 
pain 
so 
that 
the 
smallest 
joys 
in 
life 
appear 
much 
bigger. 
I 
wish 
you 
enough 
gain 
to 
saDsfy 
your 
wanDng. 
I 
wish 
you 
enough 
loss 
to 
appreciate 
all 
that 
you 
possess. 
I 
wish 
enough 
‘Hello's’ 
to 
get 
you 
through 
the 
final 
‘Goodbye.’” 
11

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Reframing Failure

  • 2. 2 Table of Contents “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #1 Every step counts. Lesson #2 Don’t give up too soon. Lesson #3 Forget the excuses. Look for opportuniDes everywhere. Lesson #4 Set a challenging goal. Lesson #5 It’s only in your mind. Lesson #6 Never regret. Lesson #7 Look forward to your next challenge. Lesson #8 The price of failure is higher than the price of taking risks. Lesson #9 There’s always a bright side. Lesson #10 Change yourself. Lesson #11 Avoid being a perfecDonist. Lesson #12 A failure is an incredible learning experience. Lesson #13 Try it. Lesson #14 A floor from which to jump. Lesson #15 The hidden power of laughter. Lesson #16 What luck really means. Lesson #17 Be a good student and build out from your weaknesses. Lesson #18 Learn about yourself -­‐ ‘I’ve never… bragged’ Lesson #19 Change your strategy. Try once more. Lesson #20 The “Not losing” Strategy. Lesson #21 Your aTtude should be to move your feet. Lesson #22 Say NO. The Best is yet to come. Lesson #23 DeterminaDon.
  • 3. Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive people; they are vexaDons to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and biYer; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of Dme. Exercise cauDon in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affecDon. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. 3 “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga
  • 4. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of faDgue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be and whatever your labors and aspiraDons, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is sJll a beauJful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. Max Ehrmann, Desiderata. 4 “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga
  • 5. Every Step Counts “ are “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #1 …they are full of life, aTtude, emoDons, wishes, dreams, and feelings. You shouldn’t take falls as failure but as clean slates. 5 When you fall and get up, the first steps are the hardest, the toughest, almost like baby steps; they Every step is a step forward… even a step backwards is a step forward. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga also confused, erraDc, liYle… even uncomfortable and a bit difficult to take but they are also full You can start again, get to know life one more Dme and not everyone has that chance. There is an enJre world to be conquered. There is that longing for victory, survival, conquest. And nothing should stop you from geTng up and going forward.
  • 6. Lesson #2 Don’t Give Up Too Soon Time truly does heal everything. It has the ability to let us forget the steps we took that were wrong and allows us to focus on the good ones. Time gives us perspecDve. In many occasions, it will take longer because bad moments hurt and some hurt more than others. It can take years, but we need to be prepared to embrace that and let go of the grudge. Even with the smallest things, Jme allows us to slowly learn to keep the good and let the harmful stay in the past. Failure, most of the Dme, is the result of giving up too soon. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga 6 “
  • 7. Don’t Give Up Too Soon “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #2 Doing is hard, because we humans are fearful by nature and need to learn to get out of the safe zone. We will be counDng sheep for nights and days if we don’t. As helpful and valuable as Dme is, our lives our finite so we have only a rather long period of Dme, but a finite period, between our birth and our goodbye. That Dme in the middle, has an ending and we need to make the most out of every minute. It doesn’t come back so we have only right now and need to make it count. Think of Jme like a train that can’t return to the staJon. When you don’t do something at the Dme you get a chance, that chance might be gone forever. So do it! Use that instant. Grab the chance. Jump. As Paulo Coelho wrote in The Alchemist, “It is said that the darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn.” When things get really ugly and they get really dark, it’s right then that we are closest to achieving something. 7
  • 8. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #2 Instead of backing down on fear and defeated, it should give us the strength to conDnue because that’s when we are closest to our goal. So grit your teeth, don’t think about it too much, persevere and follow the path you dreamed of. In reality, we don’t know how many tries it will take to get to our goal. But if you keep trying, it’s only logical that your possibiliDes rise. Never give up. And especially, never give up before it’s Dme. The next try might be it. And it’s one try away. So don’t throw the towel too early. Now think about how many Dmes you quit before actually failing. Surprising, right? As Elbert Hubbard said, “There is no failure except in no longer trying.” And most of the Dmes we quit, we have no reasons. But we do have excuses, which reminds me of Lesson #3. 8 Don’t Give Up Too Soon
  • 9. Forget the excuses. Look for opportunities everywhere. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #3 Excuses are the worst. They are disguised as good reasons, but they aren’t. Most of the Dme, when we fail or give up too early, we are giving excuses and covering our fear of not doing, by well… not doing. Get rid of excuses. If you screw something up, just say so, loud and clear so everybody sees your courage. If things don’t work out the way you expected them to, accept it. If you actually make a wrong decision, own it, admit it -­‐-­‐-­‐ it shows you are brave. If fate has other plans for you, take the lesson and move on. Live with all of this but don’t let it haunt you. Acceptance, not ignorance, is bliss. As for opportuniDes I, for example, would rather be an opDmist. Instead of picking excuses out of a hat, I’d rather search and find new paths instead of going for the whys and why nots of failure. 9
  • 10. Forget the excuses. Look for opportunities everywhere. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #3 Why would someone dedicate one’s life to validate the reasons behind failure when you could actually spend that Dme doing something great? I am convinced it will work out for me and life will need to come prove me wrong. In the meanDme, I try. I jump. I take the leap. Acceptance is bliss. Making mistakes is normal; it’s good, as aforemenDoned. So accept and learn to learn from your missteps. When people criDcize you, remember that doers don’t judge; instead, people with too much Dme on their hands judge. And when you already know of a mistake, judging is easy. So don’t worry about others. They give you nothing. 10
  • 11. Forget the excuses. Look for opportunities everywhere. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #3 Place your own bets. And don’t forget that your biggest hit is in trying. Benjamin Franklin, who clearly understood these principles used to say, “I never a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else.” And he was and remains right: when you take your Dme to find and make excuses for your acDons, you lose valuable Dme to do stuff. Doers don’t make excuses. They set challenging goals. 11 -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ Don’t look for excuses to jusDfy why you failed. Look for opportuniDes and reasons where to build your next success.
  • 12. Set a challenging goal It’s like 110 meter hurdles. These races are run by top-­‐ notch athletes who not only have to be prepared to run, but they need to prepare themselves to also jump through obstacles… so it’s like life has been shrunk to a single sporDng event. Life is a long and winding road that has hurdles all over and we need to prepare ourselves to jump. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #4 Sports make for great metaphors when we try to understand challenges. Sportspeople, unlike most people, have set high standards for themselves and are driven by a never-­‐ending hunger for victory. They take no shortcuts. But they do take risks and act. They do. 11 The size of the challenges you take on is a reflecDon of the size in which you see yourself. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “
  • 13. Set a challenging goal “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #4 Take a look at Olympic pole vaulters. They have an actual goal that is always to go higher and higher. Their goals need to be high enough to moDvate them and move them to achievement -­‐ but their goals also need to be low enough that they’re achievable. 11 Thinking of them, do this exercise: close your eyes and picture an auditorium. Picture it full of people. Try 100 people. Then try 500. And if your mind allows you too, try 2,000 people siTng there, waiDng for you to talk. They’re there to listen to you. Now try imagining 5,000 or 10,000. A very large crowd. Transform it into a football stadium with 50,000 people, all there waiDng to listen to what you have to say. All of a sudden, they go silent. Their eyes are all on you, concentrated on the spot in which you’re standing, waiDng for you to say something. The microphone is on.
  • 14. Set a challenging goal “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #4 Their eyes are sDll on you and you focus on your soon-­‐ to-­‐be-­‐out words. You speak. No words of pampering, no salutaDons. You ONLY state your GOAL. Convinced. Proud. And no maYer what you say, they automaDcally start laughing at you, loud, making fun of whatever you said. They point all their fingers at you, calling you crazy, calling you hopeless. Apparently, what you said was the funniest thing they had ever heard! The enDre crowd is laughing at your most precious dream. It truly must be unaYainable, ridiculous, and too ambiDous for your capabiliDes. Don’t open your eyes. Imagine yourself there holding your ground. In the depth of the brightness of the lights around you, you stay put. Unmoved. If you can hold that though, you found your calling. Again, whatever it is. If the people you admire, love, or care about and even the general public is against you and you can sDll stay put, jump. If you want to run, then it’s yourself who doesn’t believe you can achieve it. Aper all, it was a stadium in your mind. 11
  • 15. Set a challenging goal “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #4 Will you have chances of succeeding? That you don’t know. But if you set a high, ambiDous, huge goal… there will be no compeJJon! Richard Brinsley Sheridan once said, “The surest way to fail is not to determine to succeed.’’ Only YOU can transform your goals into chances and chances into reality. No one else. 11
  • 16. It’s only in your mind. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #5 The exercise we just did was a way of showing you how all the things that hurt you are in your mind. When you are not affecDng anybody, their judgment doesn’t count so if you’re stopped by them, you’re choosing to be stopped. The fact that you didn’t achieve your goal this Dme doesn’t mean you’re unsuccessful. You need to be sure like I am that you will succeed the next Dme. Or the Dme aper the next Dme. 11 Failure is only in your mind. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ In the meanDme, consider the things you learn in your road. The people you met. The things that you DID accomplish. Even if we fail in our main goal once, it shouldn’t mean you’re automaJcally losing.
  • 17. It’s only in your mind. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #5 Quite the opposite, you have the chance to see beyond and find actual things you did get. Not only ‘lessons’ but hard evidence that the road isn’t a waste and what you win depends on your perspecDve. Not accomplishing a goal doesn’t mean you’ve plainly failed. And what it surely doesn’t mean is that you’re a loser or a failure yourself. Get past the moment and go on. It’s up to you to decide if you believe that or not. Again, it’s all about perspecDve. The way you see things will change the way you take things, understand things. Think of this William S. Gilbert quote: “Losers visualize the penalDes of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success.” Visualize the rewards and you are one step ahead of everyone else, on the path to get them. 11
  • 18. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #6 Never regret. We’ve understood already that failure has a very bad reputaDon. It might be our upbringing, our parents growing up more deprived, or even the educaDon that we got in school. In any case, we all have a negaJve percepJon of failure, unfortunately. Now the problem with regret is that it’s the very same consequence of our fear of failure. Most of the Dme 11 When you look at the past and think “What if…” all it does is paralyze you for the future. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ we don’t do something out of fear of making a mistake, we end up seeing we were meant to do it and could have succeeded, just too late to go back.
  • 19. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #6 Never regret. “Why didn’t I…?” “What if I had done…?” “If only I…” “I would have done…” Yet asking ourselves those quesDons does us more harm than good. It sort of petrifies us in stone, leaving a negaDve scar from what we didn’t do. Since we were afraid once, it is only logical that we become more fearful as Dme progresses. Basically, being worried about what happened yesterday clouds your eyes from watching what will happen tomorrow, just like when we worry about yesterday’s rain and miss seeing the sun that came out today. Be hopeful about the future. Stop complaining. Stop regreng. 11
  • 20. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #6 Never regret. “Remember that your failures are the seeds of your most glorious successes. Be sad if you must, but don’t despair.” So goes an unknown passage. Be sad. But don’t despair. Instead, start preparing for your next baYle. 11
  • 21. Look forward to your next challenge. Life is truly a present and the past just doesn’t let you unwrap it. It’s a gip that should be opened today. There are no Dme machines, no way of going back. There simply isn’t a way. You can perfect yourself and not make the same mistake again but whatever you already did is done. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #7 If we understood all we’ve learned so far, we know that life gives us opportuniJes all the Jme, even when it presents challenges, hurdles, and obstacles. And the old saying says that when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. What it basically says is that we should take advantage of all moments to build something instead of destroying. 11 I don’t want to take to the grave the doubt of what could have happened if I had tried. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “
  • 22. Look forward to your next challenge. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #7 Use the past as your feedback session. The past is informaDon of what not to do, of how things work. With such valuable informaDon, all that is lep to do is to try again. Why have you gone through all the trouble of learning a lesson if you won’t use it to go at it again? Are you going to waste the lessons of the past staying in your chair doing nothing? I hope the answer is no. So when you fail, start seTng a new challenge, aim for that one now. Imagine big inventors such as Thomas Alva Edison. He brought us the marvelous light bulbs that we all use today. Now history says it didn’t happen overnight, but that it took him 10,000 tries before he built a successful bulb. How would our lives be today had he stopped at the 9,999th try? 11
  • 23. Look forward to your next challenge. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #7 Look forward to something. Your next step brings magic, hope, hunger of seeing what faith prepared for you. The world is full of great things that don’t move, things that are yours to take if you’re strong and you persevere. Go get them! Like English Chemist Humphrey Davy once said, “The most important of my discoveries have been suggested to me by my failures.” Let them guide you instead of breaking you. 11
  • 24. The price of failure is higher than the price of taking risks. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #8 Going into the unknown isn’t easy. When I talk about reframing failure and looking at in under a different light, it doesn’t mean I don’t know that it gets rough at Dmes. It does and it will conDnue to do so. But the exercise you need to do is seeing beyond. PuTng things in a balance and seeing what plate is heavier. Do you want to pay the price of failing or pay the price of not doing? If you don’t do you get nothing. If you do and fail you at least get something. 11 The only price you have to pay in order to try new things and conquer uncharted territory is that of taking the risk of failing. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ So use your resources wisely when you pay in life. Think of Bob Mandel, who took a month of his Dme to stand on the same New York corner day aper day and invite all of the women who passed by for a coffee.
  • 25. The price of failure is higher than the price of taking risks. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #8 All of them said no. But he wasn’t trying to hurt himself. He was trying to understand what failing meant for him, how it hit him, what changes it made in him. And he learned the hard way! Overcoming the fear of rejecDon and in turn, not being scared anymore of trying what might not work out well, takes you places. Takes you high. Fear on its own, takes you nowhere. And there’s nothing worse than inacDon. Not having done anything, not even something wrong. Frances Watkins Harper put it very clearly, “Apparent failure may hold in its rough shell the germs of a success that will blossom in Dme and bear fruit throughout eternity.” See beyond. Look at the bright side. 11
  • 26. There’s always a bright side. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #9 We’ve heard the ‘there’s always a bright side’ phrase many Dmes. The reason why these phrases become so popular is because they somewhat help you visualize things you already know but haven’t yet seen. For example, consider doing really bad at something. Then, you write a book called, “All I Tried Went Wrong.” You laugh about the situaDons that happened in your life and how nothing seems to go right for you. The book becomes a bestseller. Failure? Hardly. 11 It’s not whether or not you fall, but whether or not you want to live your life down there. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ Thousands of thousands of successful human beings have gone through failure and got back up on their feet. What they did was focus on their strengths instead of their weaknesses.
  • 27. There’s always a bright side. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #9 He had worked his enDre life building his store and when he came back from a much deserved vacaDon, a river had flooded his store. He lost everything. The suffering drove him to become a moDvaDonal speaker. And he opened his store again. As the German proverb goes, “He who has never tasted what is biYer does not know what is sweet.” See failure as the moment in which you learn to taste what’s really good. It’s actually quite simple: if it was all easy, then nothing would be. When something is standard, normal, is always there, then it becomes pointless to fight. And we lose. Think of life as a country that gives you double ciDzenship: you are a ciDzen of success and of failure at the same Dme. Then when we grow up, we have the chance to choose just one -­‐ we can’t live with two different passports. Now what passport will it be? 11
  • 28. There’s always a bright side. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #9 Just try to see every bump in the road as an opportunity. Take whatever life is giving you and make something good out of it. When something knocks you down, think why it happened. That maybe that road wasn’t yours. Because you’re in for something bigger. As Abraham Lincoln once stated, “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” Do whatever you want to do even with failure. Aper all, “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing,” said the great Vince Lombardi. What will your habit be? 11
  • 29. Change yourself. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #10 We’ve talked abundantly about the chances to find in failure. How we need to see unsuccessful runs as the doors to our victory leaps. But it can’t be all talk and no acJon. No maYer how hard your problems are, the key to conquering them is not trying to change the whole issue, but rather changing yourself. 11 He who doesn't move his feet won't stumble, but he won't get ahead either. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ Change is good. OpportuniDes to change need to be followed by the acDon of changing. Remember that by doing what others will not, tomorrow you will be able to do what others simply can’t. “A man can fail many Dmes, but he isn't a failure unDl he begins to blame somebody else,” said John Burroughs. So what you need is to start seeing yourself as a winner. Believe it. Do things to change it.
  • 30. Change yourself. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #10 Ask the quesDon, what didn’t work out? Was it a job? EducaDon? Love life? OK. Now what did you do wrong? You hadn’t studied? You didn’t work hard enough or didn’t look confident enough for that interview? Or maybe you got too jealous and didn’t enjoy the one you were with? Worried too much? Then change. Stop the madness. Sit down and plan a course. A new course of study. Dress differently for the next meeDng. Prepare yourself. Open up to love. Take your dreams to the gym and workout, change, change, change. And make them happen. Which takes us to Lesson #11. 11
  • 31. Avoid being a perfectionist. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #11 I started my internet company. I was full of energy. But people looked at me with that ‘poor boy’ kind of look. Aper a couple of years, things came my way and suddenly for the same people I became a visionary. That is my story. But all along I knew that story couldn’t be perfect. As we previously discussed, acceptance is bliss. Knowing about the things we cannot change and accepDng them is truly bliss, because we can focus on 11 PerfecDonism, if not handled carefully, might as well end up being the germ that corrupts success and turns it into yet another failure. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ on what’s important. On what can be changed. One of the things we shouldn’t try to be, ever, is perfect. PerfecDon exists in the things of life but not in humans. The fact that we are changing all the Dme and that we live so randomly,
  • 32. Avoid being a perfectionist. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #11 without certainty of what’s to come, is proof. And since you can’t be perfect. Don’t try. Instead, aim for excellence. Try to be the best you can be, at that moment. Always strive for more. Fight for being just a liYle beYer. Aper all, if perfect existed and you were so smart and powerful that you could reach it when you were 20 and knew you would live to 100 years… what would you do for all the rest of the Dme? If perfect was possible, we wouldn’t have dreams to fight for. Which is hardly perfect. That is why Emile Zola used to say, “PerfecDon is such a nuisance that I open regret having cured myself of using tobacco.” Don’t lose valuable Dme trying to be perfect. As the old saying goes, “You’re on the road to success when you realize that failure is only a detour.” 11
  • 33. A failure is an incredible learning experience. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #12 In our job of reframing failure I have come to say many Dmes that we should be logical. Being logical helps us understand things clearly, without sugar coaDng. So let’s try this other logical exercise: you set a goal, it worked. Then you learn what you should do to repeat success in your future projects. You have a formula. 11 Failure has to be thought of as a learning experience. Otherwise it’s just unbearable painful. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ If we do that with what’s good, why do we not do that with what’s bad, which is what we should truly tackle? If you set a goal and it didn’t work, then learn as well! It will teach you much more -­‐-­‐ knowing what you shouldn’t do again rather than knowing what you should repeat.
  • 34. A failure is an incredible learning experience. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #12 If you repeat a good step, circumstances might just not work out and you could sDll face failure. But if the first Jme failed, you know what not to do. And yes, you might fail again but never for the same reasons. Failure truly is an incredible learning experience. Every single Dme you start a project, you should have your mind set on victory and a backup plan in case it eludes you. In fact, you should plan failures and what you will learn from them more than victories. The real problem aper all is not making a mistake, but learning nothing from it. Every Dme life knocks you down, you should not only stand up straight and walk again but also take something with you. You learn a lot from your mistakes and maybe not as much from your successes. Anton Chekhov used to say, “One must be a God to be able to tell successes from failures without making a mistake.” It’s all a learning process. 11
  • 35. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #13 Try it. If one’s dream is clear and it’s a hearuelt dream, all failed aYempts are roads. Those roads are obviously not taking me to my desDnaDon but they are not driving me away. Think of it as a long road that you have to go through to finish a long, long trip. At Dmes, the road will get dark, especially at night and lights will tell you to turn around. Yet when the day comes you go back to your road. And so it goes. 11 The only way to become an expert is through experience. And many Dmes, when experimenDng, we fail. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ Never stopping and meeDng people and learning things on the way to your fate. The dream is sJll there. You are sDll the driver. You have been detoured but you’re not lost. The more detours you take, the more you learn and the closer you are to finding the right path.
  • 36. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #13 Try it. Again, every failure has a reason and isn’t random. Maybe you met someone criDcal to your success. Maybe it gave you a new skill. Or made you stronger -­‐ your most inner fibers were made tougher. Or who knows, maybe what you wanted wasn’t there yet and you needed to rest. Failure is sort of like luck, energy wise. It’s a big leap that the universe makes you take when you are about to lose your way. It sets you back on track. Aper all, like Walter Bagehot said, “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” Proving people wrong might be one of the strongest driving forces. It pushes you. It’s the floor from which to jump. 11
  • 37. A floor from which to jump. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #14 I honestly believe mistakes touch an inDmate part of everyone. I am no stranger to failure. And I have suffered for it but was able to get back on my feet. There is truly no other way to explain why we are so afraid of failing, than thinking there must be a spot in our brains that failure touches in a way no other feeling does. 11 PerspecDve is everything. You can either see failure as the roof that cuts your possibiliDes or you can see it as a floor from which to take another jump. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ But even if there is something prevenDng us from jumping, we sDll have our free will to do whatever pleases us. We can be paralyzed or moving. Which will you choose? Staying put or dreaming big? Give perspecJve a chance.
  • 38. A floor from which to jump. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #14 Think of yourself in a four-­‐walled room. The ceiling is there and you want desperately to see a storm of shooDng stars. But the concrete roof is blocking you. Now you could stay there and miss the beauty of nature and its gips. But there are stairs and you go up, you open a door and put your feet on the roof. You step on it. And now, logic says that if it is below your feet, it’s no longer a ceiling right? It’s just a floor. Floors give us comfort and support. Ceilings put a stop to our view, while floors allow us to find ground. Look at the stars now. You didn’t miss them. And the sky is the limit. Because, “when you fall, you shouldn’t get up empty handed.” Make this unknown author’s thought a mantra, an anthem. Step on the ceiling that blocks you and transform it into your new floor, from which to jump to new heights. 11
  • 39. The hidden power of laughter. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #15 A few lessons ago, we tried to imagine what it was like to have a full stadium of people laughing at our expense. Our dream crashed by the sound of their mocking, their amusement. Now if it somewhat lep you unseYled, try what I said earlier: if everybody does the same thing, it becomes normal, regular. For example, let’s say you’re a runner. 11 Having failed can also be considered a great victory: you’ve defeated the fear of trying. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ Then, the enDre world starts running. And running becomes today’s walking. Then running just doesn’t exist anymore. Because walking that fast is the new walking. Now go back to imagine the laughter. Imagine that you start laughing with them, at how crazy your dream was.
  • 40. The hidden power of laughter. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #15 By the end, you’re the only one laughing. You’re laughing at an enDre stadium who didn’t understand that dreaming is the only road to achieve. It’s the step prior to starDng to build. So take things lightly, make jokes about it, and don’t be so serious. Relax and enjoy. Life will start flowing easily when you do. Aper all, life is a finite moment and just as we have to choose between ciDzenship in Failureland or Victoryland, we need to choose if we want to spend it worrying or enjoying. So it didn’t work out this Dme? Then it will the next Dme, with what you’ve learned from this fall. Nothing is really THAT serious. Compared with death, which is the only unavoidable part of life, everything is vane to worry about. If you can be posiDve you’re capable, then failing will be just one more step, like a staDon in the train road. 11
  • 41. The hidden power of laughter. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #15 The track is sDll long and you got many more staDons, more likeable, less likeable. In the meanDme, laugh and prepare yourself for victory. Samuel Smiles, who had a very interesDng last name, said, “It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much opener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.” Take his lesson. 11
  • 42. What luck really means. But luck is just that, the quantum leap that appears like a hidden, transparent hand, but is a reflecDon of us truly believing in ourselves. It comes when we most need it and it comes to help our minds be clear again. Depending on every situaDon, it is very helpful for very different reasons. But at the end, luck is all the Dme the same. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #16 Does luck really exist? Luck is defined as a random event that is posiDve, like something that JUST happens, without cause, without any reason and leaves just as fast as it happens. But I don’t believe that luck exists, not in that form. I actually believe the universe is on our side, all the Dme, and we just make it harder for it to help us. So when the Dme requires it, if our energy and heart are in the right places but our mind is clouded, then the universe conspires and gives us ‘luck.’ 11 Scars of defeat show the willingness to reach glory. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “
  • 43. What luck really means. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #16 A clearer of our brains, so we can see what our souls already saw. Luck accommodates us. It’s like an energy boost in a game that sets us back on track when our fate is not being fulfilled. Garry Kasparov always said, “Luck helps the champion,” and it is true. Nothing happens BECAUSE of luck. It happens because it was right and luck was just there to help us realize it. But without will of victory, without hunger for glory, nothing will truly be there. Luck will be running aper us and we will miss it. “There are defeats more triumphant than victories,” goes the saying by Michel de Montaigne. And we should believe so. Some victories are just that but some defeats are like double successes. We get through them to our goal. And we conquer the defeat itself. 11
  • 44. Be a good student and build out from your weaknesses. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #17 It sounds easy that I say all I’ve said, without actual tools. I already menDoned that we should always plan ahead, so we know where to look to learn. And the only way of learning, the only pracDcal way, is from weaknesses. Speeches and phrases are good, but what I truly want you to be driven by is acDon. 11 When you fail, be smart enough to be a good student. Failure open is your best teacher. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ These lessons are for waking up but then they are nothing if they are not applied. So when you fall, think: “What did I do wrong?” And then when you find the answer, try to think of what lies beneath.
  • 45. Be a good student and build out from your weaknesses. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #17 Did you fail because you weren’t prepared? You weren’t strong enough? You should have been more responsible? What are the weaknesses that made you crumble? Again, it’s fairly logical. You can’t get beaer at anything in life, if you don’t even know what it is. Failure is the only available window. If you do great every single Dme, without even an inch of failure, you have no way of knowing or being prepared for when the streak of victories runs out. So toughen up through your weaknesses. Look at them right in the eyes, face them and don’t run. Just the opposite, you need to internalize them and start working on changing them. When you get to conquer them all, you will be the strongest warrior. Nothing will pierce your armor and you will be able to defeat even the largest armies, single-­‐handedly. 11
  • 46. Be a good student and build out from your weaknesses. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #17 There is a wise Yiddish proverb that says, “He who lies on the ground cannot fall.” And come on, where else would you go if you were already are at the boYom? Rest there, look up and see where you need to go and use the space to learn about who you are. 11
  • 47. Learn about yourself - ‘I’ve never… bragged’ “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #18 That you need to know yourself sounds fairly smart right? It also sounds silly to some people, because they think ‘you already know yourself, from the start.’ But that is quite far from the truth. In fact, humans are fearful but they are also blind and confident. We are all afraid of failing but we also think we are the best ones and have a very hard Dme seeing beyond our own egos. 11 He who always brags, ‘I’ve never failed in my life,’ most probably won’t have achieved anything that makes him proud. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ So when we first fail, our world kind of crumbles under our feet. We didn’t know ourselves that well aper all, did we? From defeat, the most important thing of all items to pick up, the biggest lesson to take home, is what you learn about yourself.
  • 48. Learn about yourself - ‘I’ve never… bragged’ “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #18 Mistakes, bumps, failures, they all show you who you truly are, how you react to adversity, if you need more Dme or if you’re ready to tackle even bigger dreams. Knowing your flaws also makes the strengths stronger. Now you know what to change. And just as weaknesses you learn about yourself are the starDng point from which to be a beYer self, your strengths are the tools you will use to get there. See these examples: Are you shy and have no confidence when you approach people but you have good wriDng skills? Jump to starDng your own blog; tell the world your ideas. You know what will happen? People will read you and comment about how much of a great person you seem to be, that you should do more and help people through your words. And they will listen. 11
  • 49. Learn about yourself - ‘I’ve never… bragged’ “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #18 Or, are you super anxious all the Dme, nervous and you lost an interview because of it? And they told you it seemed like you were very loyal and hard-­‐working but the job required you to stay strong under difficult, long-­‐term situaDons and your anxiety was going to be bad? There it is! Your strength is that you are loyal, you are reliable. Go meet clients, start your own firm. Set your own pace. Show that anxiety also means fast results. And now you the one always delivering them as promised. Change your world. And then you’ll change the world. Failure is a maYer of aTtude, so you beYer check within yourself. “No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes,” William E. Gladstone said. And he was SO right. There’s no other way. 11
  • 50. Change your strategy. Try once more. So you have tried and tried. But did you learn anything? Have you changed? Or is your life more like ongoing déjà vu, always repeaDng the story? OK then. Sit down and start looking back at what you did wrong. No judgments. No punishing. Learn. Look again. What are you repeaDng? “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #19 So you are now saying, “I have done all this.” I believed. And I failed. I was ready. And I failed. Well you should know humans are the only species that makes the same mistake over and over again. Albert Einstein used to go further and said that not only do we make the same mistakes over and over again, but we expect different results. 11 One thing is to have failed. A very different thing is to consider yourself a failure. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “
  • 51. Change your strategy. Try once more. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #19 George Bernard Shaw once said, “Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second Dme.” And there is no purer truth. Make thousands of mistakes. Just don’t make the same ones. Don’t be fixated, learn. Aper all, if you haven’t tried, how will you succeed? Think of life as the biggest quesDon of all. And we all know that quesDons that are not asked already have “NO” as their answer. So ask. Ask a lot. Dream. Learn. Try. Jump. 11
  • 52. The “Not Losing” Strategy. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #20 Almost everyone in the world choose, consciously or unconsciously, the strategy that I call of “Not Losing.” I mean, you must have wondered why there are so few humans that are incredibly famous, rich, and/or successful, right? Why are there so few movie stars? Why are CEOs so important? Well, exactly because most people tend to take a different strategy than that of taking a leap forward, to the unknown. 11 No failure is mortal if it doesn’t take your will to try again. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ Successful people take, “The Yes to Winning,” approach. They are not daredevils who aren’t afraid of losing. They’re afraid too. But they prefer to see each chance as a way of winning. Instead of the people who say, “I’d rather not lose.”
  • 53. The “Not Losing” Strategy. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #20 Can you change from one to the other? Yes, of course. But you need to be aware of why you are picking the negaDve strategy in the first place. Most of us hate rejecJon. We have thoughts about success and making mistakes. Big ‘winners’ also hate rejecDon. But they know how to handle it. They learned how to handle rejecDon and failures and if they can do it, so can you. If rejecDon paralyzes you and makes you avoid doing something, then you’re ‘not losing.’ Actually ‘not losing’ means ‘already lost.’ If you don’t do anything to achieve something, oh well, you’re sure not going to achieve it. That’s the only thing for sure. ‘Not losing’ in my mind sounds like ‘I’m losing for sure.’ Now people who chose to take risks and pick the ‘winning’ strategy are aware that things can go bad, that their acDons might not take them where they want. But they trust themselves and their fortune. 11
  • 54. The “Not Losing” Strategy. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #20 They are true believers that whatever happens, it’s for the best. They consider what can happen if things don’t work out. They evaluate, “what’s the worst thing that can happen to me if it doesn’t work?” And the answer doesn’t scare them. Fear makes the difference. It’s what makes you choose the wrong strategy. So you need to learn to manage your fear. You have to know how to handle it in order to win. Aper all… you can always go back easily to your limited mental box whenever you want. “We climb to heaven most open on the ruins of our cherished plans, finding our failures were successes,” said Amos Bronson AlcoY. It’s all perspecJve. 11
  • 55. Your attitude should be to move your feet. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #21 Life is full of moments that you can explain through metaphors. So what are some broken eggs, when referring to failure, when you actually get to keep the hen that lays them? If you only focus on the eggs you’ve broken, then your focus is wrong. Instead, focus on what really needs aYenDon: the next step. Open your eyes, see things in perspecDve and don’t let even your own negaDve aTtude be defeaDng. 11 He who doesn’t move his feet will not fall. But he will also not move forward. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ Failure will not be there forever. It’s just a staDon like we said. Move on. Keep travelling. Tripping does not mean falling. Nobody is perfect. It’s all in the aTtude. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
  • 56. Your attitude should be to move your feet. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #21 All of those sayings are true and they should push you to understand that no maYer what you do, if you’re focused, you can make it even ager all the falls. Now if you see failure negaDvely every Dme you encounter it, then it is also real. Without acDng, moving your feet, you would never find your way out. It’s all in your aTtude. You see yourself as a loser? Then you will be losing all the Dme. Unfortunate events will ALWAYS happen, so instead of trying to avoid them, let them come and fight them and make them your own. Successful people take failures as background noise, as something that will always be there. And for unsuccessful people, it’s like music. Failures are like the toll in the highway. The highway is something that helps you to get safer, faster, and smoother to your desDnaDon. And the toll is the price to enjoy that. But if you decide to avoid the toll, there’s no way to get there. You just stay where you are. Numb. 11
  • 57. Your attitude should be to move your feet. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #21 Atude makes such a difference that even in the words of two people, aTtude makes the enDre difference. While a loser would tell himself that he could never make it again and that he should quit, someone successful would see this as what not to do. In people who believe they are losers, failure is just a way of telling ‘yes, I am.’ For victorious people, it’s circumstanDal. What you should know is that just like there’s never a good Dme to get sick, there’s never a good Dme for ‘this project,’ or ‘just now.’ Things need to happen because you want them to, not because it is the right Dme. It will never be. The right Dme is in your hands. A friend of mine, who has a design company (and in fact most business people) has a process in which a certain amount of errors are permiYed, in order to be prepared in case they actually happen. Errors being a part of his processes make the processes beYer. 11
  • 58. Your attitude should be to move your feet. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #21 And it’s not like he goes and makes them on purpose. But he’s ready in case they happen. And he learns and they never happen again. It’s not what happens, but what you do with it. It’s not if you failed, but if you feel like a loser. It’s not the cards you get, but how you play the hand. Just like George Canning’s phrase, “Indecision and delays are the parents of failure.” Don’t feed them! 11
  • 59. Say NO. The Best is yet to come. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #22 One of the last things I want you to learn is to reject things. Learn to say no. Reject projects if they don’t go your way. Don’t do things because “you have to.” When learning to deal with rejecDon, you’ll become smarter when you say NO without guilt. SomeDmes you take tasks or project that you don’t like, just because others ask for it. Why don’t you say no without feeling guilty? 11 Success, just like failure should be taken lightly. In both cases, the best is yet to come. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ We’re not used to saying NO to people asking. Respect yourself, your Jme, and your energy. How do you say NO without feeling guilty? Well, check out this story that happened to me a while ago.
  • 60. Say NO. The Best is yet to come. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #22 The phone rang and the secretary took the call. Aper a funny conversaDon with the caller, she hung up. The ice was broken in the room so she said, ‘she wanted to come now, but she needs to book an hour, as the doctor is super busy. Last week for example, a person called for another denDst and was given an hour for a couple days later. She called to ask and the doctor, always busy, had only space three weeks from the date.’ She ended up telling us that even with space, it isn’t good to show you actually have hours lep, because having no paDents means there’s something wrong. So in all stages in life, someDmes it’s beYer to say, “I can’t help you right now, I’m booked unDl… If you can wait, I’ll be more than glad to work in your project.” “A minute's success pays the failure of years,” Robert Browning once thought. Think about it when you read my last lesson. 11
  • 61. Determination. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #23 The reason why I am finishing these lessons with one word, determinaDon, is because of its power. Like my quote below states, I truly would rather go against someone with more money, or more skills, but not someone with a goal set in stone and who has more determinaDon than I do. DeterminaJon is power. It is energy. Drive. DeterminaDon is what pushes us even beyond our wildest and most fearful moments. It puts the past behind because it moves us to the future. 11 I’d rather compete against a more talented individual, than someone more determined than me. -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga “ Remember when you learned to ride a bike? Remember that moment and think of jumping to needing to learn how to ski. Completely different, out of the one comfort zone you had. The terrain is steeper, there’s no concrete,
  • 62. Determination. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #23 it’s cold, you’re wearing lots of clothes, you need to move to the sides, no way to stop but with your body. All of a sudden you need to act different and think different. Obviously, results are also different. Thinking outside of the box, being determined, is what will get you through that task, or any task you set for yourself. Changing your mindset and going from the loser’s mind to that of the victorious, is the same. When you start, you might not know if you’ll do it right. Or if you ever will. But there is what I call a ‘moment of truth,’ a second in the hours and days and months of baYles in which you just realize... You can do it. There’s a chance. And failure and the fear of it is gone. You reminiscence about the past and remember how you thought it would be hard, impossible. But you are already leaving that in the rear-­‐view mirror, full speed ahead to the future. Aper the moment of truth, whenever you fall, you’ll know it’s just a bump, but no longer a crash. 11
  • 63. Determination. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #23 “Failure will never overtake me if my determinaDon to succeed is strong enough.” Og Mandino was right. It’s what takes us to jump into the river and cross to the other side. And when the waves get rougher, I sDll go for them. Blinded by determinaDon. It’s courage. Embracing the need for success. It’s being convinced to the bone, the unbreakable willingness to conDnue. No way back. Oscar Wilde has an outstanding quote for it: “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” And yes, someDmes you win, someDmes you lose. Knowing it is the real game. Knowing it and sDll risking it all, going all in, is the real victory. 11
  • 64. Determination. “Reframing Failure” -­‐ Gonzo Arzuaga Lesson #23 So I leave you with a poem I heard someone say to someone else a long Dme ago: "I wish you enough sun to keep your aTtude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to saDsfy your wanDng. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish enough ‘Hello's’ to get you through the final ‘Goodbye.’” 11