Don't be afraid to fail

Jon Hamm, in his speech to Saint Louis University graduates, put it perfectly:

"Don't be afraid to fail."

"Failure is good. Failure is ultimately how we succeed. Fail better," he said.

It's advice that resonates, whether you're on a movie set or in the boardroom.

Because the truth is, no great success comes without failure.

No polished product emerges without a few rough drafts.

I must have revised this LinkedIn post 15 times! (not that it's a polished product now though)

In movies, we see the polished product.

The perfect take.

The flawless performance.

We don't see the thousands of "takes" left on the cutting room floor.

The flubbed lines, the missed marks, the failed attempts.

But here's the thing:

Those failures - they're not just outtakes.

They're essential parts of the process.

Failure is a part of success, not the opposite of it.

It's how we learn, grow, and get better.

So if you're afraid to fail, you're afraid to succeed.

Don't be.

Embrace failure.

Learn from it.

Use it as fuel.

Remember, for every scene that makes it into the movie, there are hundreds that don’t.

But without those failures, there would be no film at all.

The same is true for you.

Don't be afraid to fail.

Failing matters.

And trust that your “perfect take” is coming.

You just have to keep shooting.