Interestingly enough, as years go by it becomes clearer to me that they were in fact truly different words with very different meanings. They were not as I first thought synonymous.

The phrase evoked a lot of questions and left me wondering. Did I derive pleasure from my day to day occurrences or was I overlooking them? Did I acknowledge my achievements throughout day and give notice to all wonderful things that occurred or was I consistently in search of more?

When a 5 year old falls off his bike we call it learning, not failing, to ride a bike?

And, when a 20 year old doesn't get that first professional job she interviewed for, we call it learning, not failing, to make it in real world.

So, as you and I continue to progress forward in our life and stumble here or fall down there, isn't it also true that we are learning (not failing) to know, do, and be our best selves?

Learning, as you well know, is a verb, an act of doing something. It is not a static event or moment in time. Learning is consequence of acting, feeling, understanding and assessing an experience. And in this world, taking action, more often than not, is equated with ‘being on road to success’.

Equipped with this understanding of what failure really is: learning, and what learning is: a consequence of action, and that that action is only way to success, then you can easily come to conclusion that there really is no such thing as failure.

Take this one client's example: "I am terrified to speak in public because I might look, say, or do something stupid and thus fail miserably at my dream of being a professional speaker." I asked this client "Well, are you afraid to learn?"

See, if you like to learn. If you really enjoy seeking new ideas, information and skills, you can eliminate your belief (and fear) of failure forever. Here's how.