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Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown by Pema Chödrön, Seth Godin
the_schaef's review
4.0
Pemo Chödrön is always a delight to read. This short book can and should be read in one sitting. The graduation speech is insightful, but the truly informative portion is the Q and A that followed. Pemo Chodron process excellent insight, that we can incorporate right now.
kathleenguthriewoods's review against another edition
5.0
Read the main part of this book one morning, in one sitting; read through the follow-up Q&A today. Incredible wisdom for living. Was going to say that this speaks especially to my women friends who are struggling with "What do I do now?" as we enter mid-life. (Crisis? Ya think?!) But it applies to anyone. Highly recommend.
christinaerickson33's review against another edition
5.0
Everybody needs to learn the lesson of failure. And that it's ok.
justasking27's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
The interview at the end was even better than the essay
hldonavant's review against another edition
5.0
This book should be handed out at every graduation. Every high school, college. Hell when you're born. Everyone should read this. It's short, to the point.
tommyhousworth's review against another edition
4.0
Anything from Ani Pema, even a short audiobook such as this, is a treat. When her granddaughter graduated from Naropa University, Pema graciously gave the commencement speech (captured in the first chapter of this audiobook). Her theme was based on a Samuel Beckett quote, "Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better." The remainder of this recording is a recent interview with Pema, made in conjunction with the commencement speech.
The standout analogy in the book for me came from her teacher, the head of the Shambhala lineage, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who compared life's persistent journey to walking out into ocean waves. They knock you down, you get a mouthful of sand, you get up, and you keep walking. It happens again, repeatedly. It's not the waves that ultimately subside, but your ability to work with them. They start to seem smaller with each wave, until you're able to keep your footing a bit more. Life's experiences - suffering, loss, setbacks - give us the tools we need to steady our steps amid the waves. They may still knock us down from time to time, but we get up more quickly, and we know to keep moving is the only way forward. "Forward" is a big word in this recording, and an apt one.
Very grateful for Ani Pema and her teachings. Her gentle guidance has spoken to me more than any other on my spiritual path.
The standout analogy in the book for me came from her teacher, the head of the Shambhala lineage, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who compared life's persistent journey to walking out into ocean waves. They knock you down, you get a mouthful of sand, you get up, and you keep walking. It happens again, repeatedly. It's not the waves that ultimately subside, but your ability to work with them. They start to seem smaller with each wave, until you're able to keep your footing a bit more. Life's experiences - suffering, loss, setbacks - give us the tools we need to steady our steps amid the waves. They may still knock us down from time to time, but we get up more quickly, and we know to keep moving is the only way forward. "Forward" is a big word in this recording, and an apt one.
Very grateful for Ani Pema and her teachings. Her gentle guidance has spoken to me more than any other on my spiritual path.
jrsouthwick's review against another edition
5.0
This was a good quick read. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the other Pema Chödrön book I just read, but it fit in so perfectly with other books, podcasts, and conference talks I’ve been studying lately. It’s a great companion to the book “Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown, the general conference talk “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually” by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and this podcast episode entitled “Jennifer Finlayson-Fife—a Psychotherapist’s Take on Perfectionism” from About Progress with Monica Packer. Apparently, vulnerability, toxic perfectionism, courageous failure, etc. have been on my mind a lot lately!
librarylapin's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a nice short primer to thinking about the way we see success and how often we judge ourselves. This a combination of a speech and an interview.