A broader perspective (270 degrees, perhaps?) can turn a well-established belief on its’ head. I was once again reminded of this at lunch today with my two oldest friends, which always yields hearty and thought provoking conversation. After we caught up on our usual topics- parenting, work, our relationships - we fell into a discussion about the natural and inherent fear of failure. Why is it we are so afraid to fail? Is it tied to our self-worth, our egos, shame, or what others will think of us?

As I thought more about it, I was reminded of something I heard on 60 Minutes last night. The venture capitalist and founder of Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla admitted he had probably more failures than anyone else he knows. How is it one of the most successful men in business has so many failures? Of course, the two are related! His failures are precisely the reason he is so successful. Failures are not a reflection of ability, intellect, or talent, they are simply proof one was willing to take a risk. On Khosla’s website he quotes Michael Jordan,

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Instead of judging failure in others or feeling ashamed of it ourselves, we need to celebrate it. It’s simply evidence that one has the courage to take a risk, try something new and let go of any outcome. That’s a lot more admirable than a low-risk success, in my view.