Fail Up

Subtitled 20 lessons on building success from failure, these stories by the American broadcaster Tavis Smiley show how failures can become lessons on which we can subsequently build. His mother was his first teacher when she gave him her pencil with an inscription 'it's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am' and allowed him to draw his own conclusion that bragging about his ability would not endear him to his friends. At the end of each short section there is a takeaway message summarising the lesson to be learned. One instructive chapter discusses the relationship between power and principle and describes the tortured last two years of Martin Luther King's life, when everyone had turned against him. Many politicians follow the policy of permanent interests rather than basing their views on sound principles, but, as Smiley points out, these can come at a price. The greatest lives are those deeply aligned with their principles. Since writing these lines, Margaret Thatcher has died and her funeral took place today. I was struck by the advice given by her father: 'You first sort out what you believe. Then you apply it. You don't compromise on what matters.' The film Lincoln is also an example of the power of principle against prejudice.