Leadership coach John C. Maxwell once said, “Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.” I used to assume great leaders avoided failure. Now I know the opposite is true: failure is often the tuition we pay for wisdom. And for me, that lesson started with worms. In fifth grade, I decided I could make money raising and selling earthworms. After all, a young Springfield entrepreneur named Johnny Morris had begun selling fishing supplies in the back of his dad’s liquor store. If he could make a business out of bait, why couldn’t I? I collected coffee grounds from my grandmother, built my own worm farm in the backyard, struck a deal with the local Texaco station, and even made yard signs to drive traffic. My parents must have wondered what they had unleashed. But when my first customer arrived, there was one small issue: I couldn’t find a single worm to sell. Same result with customer number two. When customer number three—my grandfather—showed up with his fishing rod in hand, he surv...

  Author and leadership coach John C. Maxwell once said, “Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.” If you look back and see areas where you fell short, take time to consider the lessons learned and how to use that experience to move forward. While failure can be humbling and painful, it often paves the path to success.  My Failures In 1976, when I was in fifth grade, I went with my dad to a store in Springfield to buy fishing lures and bait. A local kid named Johnny Morris had started selling fishing supplies in the back of his dad’s liquor store in 1972. I remember being shocked by the cost of earthworms.  Inspired, I decided to start a worm farm. I built a raised bed, collected coffee grounds from my grandma, and painted signs for our yard that read “Worms for Sale.” But there was a problem. When I had my first customer, I could not find any worms. My grandpa (the first customer) summed it up perfectly: “You need to practice raising worms before you advertise.”...