So here’s a message to all of those, including me, who have been afraid to try something new. For all of us who fear failure. For all of us who are reluctant to try because it’s hard. Public speaking. A new hobby. A new skill at work. Shoot, even asking that girl out. The message is simple: go for it. Seriously, go for it.

In the context of innovation and business practice, this message involves risk for sure. But creative and business success is often less about raw talent and more about how much and how often we are willing to fail. Take it from Thomas Edison: “The real measure of success is the number of experiments that can be crowded into twenty-four hours.” The point is that the more we fail, the more we learn. The more we learn, the greater the likelihood that we reach successful outcomes. Kinda like the old adage of try, try again from school. Basically, if we get really good at failing, chances are we’ll eventually reach our goal.

To that end, don’t just blindly say yes. Be smart about it. Do your homework. In business, look outside of your day to day for inspiration. Talk with your users, brainstorm a zillion possibilities and narrow down your choices, then test and iterate like crazy. In other words, go for it, but go for it by failing smartly.

All of us have some level of desire to do something big. Not all of us have the courage to try. Fewer still have the courage to try with a well thought out plan. Even fewer of us have the courage and perseverance to continue to try upon failure. Do you? I say eff getting an F.