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JUNKYARD DOG: Molly, shown here, knows the importance of keeping amassed junk organized, especially when battling unfruitful failures.

Photography by Tom Jennings

Fail Early! Fail Often!

A mental toolkit to sharpen your skills.

By Tom Jennings

NO ONE TALKS OF FAILURE AS ANYTHING but shameful; this is wrongheaded and foolish. Mistakes are synonymous with learning. Failing is unavoidable. Making is a process, not an end. It is true that deep experience helps avoid problems, but mainly it gives you mental tools with which to solve inevitable problems when they come up.

It all begins with a mental toolbox, filled with useful items you can’t buy, but ...

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