I don’t know about you, but I can’t say my twenties have exactly been a roaring success. There have been sprinkles of achievement sure, but not the random-people-hoisting-me-up-on-their-shoulders-like-a-quarterback-who-just-won-the-Super-Bowl success, like I’d imagined.

However, when people give me the five quick answers that are supposed to make me that overwhelming success over night, I become a tad nauseous.

Yes, just follow these five steps and you’ll make thirty thousand more, get fifteen new best friends, find ultimate fulfillment, and re-grow long, flowing locks of hair.

I hate when five things become carte blanche.

THE SECRET

That’s why when giving you the secret of how to completely avoid failure in this decade seemingly smothered in it, I’m not going to give you five easy answers.

No, I’m going to give you just one.

Makes sense.

So without further ado…. drum roll please……To fail-proof your twenties…..

Fail, but never define any thing as a failure.

BAM! Done! Where’s my fee?

I’M SERIOUS

I first wrote about the importance of this in my Top Five Things You Should Hear in a Graduation Speech, but Won’t, and it’s still something I, and maybe you, need to hear over and over and over and over.

Whatever mistake. Whatever wrong turn. Whatever set back. The business that went belly-up. The relationship that died like a salmon on a summer sidewalk. The amazing investment opportunity that fell like a tree during a lumberjack competition. These events are only failures, if we make them such.

Sure the details haven’t turned out the way you planned. But honestly (and I say this as nicely as possible), your plans weren’t that good to begin with. If things lined up like the dominoes that you envisioned, you wouldn’t have had one ounce of conflict, of struggle, of growth for the next 20-30 years.

We need the failure, hardships, and trials to persevere through. Failure is a necessary part of success. But we will not actually do any thing, if we first do not learn how to fail without labeling ourselves a failure.

PICK YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

Make plans, have goals, dream dreams, yes and yes.

But get ready when the pick your own adventure, picks you instead.

Sure people are still not carrying you around like a war-hero coming back to the States.

Fine.

Sure your bank account is not the Duck Tales gold coins swimming pool.

Maybe someday.

But I fully realize now the only real failure of our 20’s, would have been if we never had any.