Seek to Misconstrue + a
Failure: The Blog 
February 2012
- Unfinished, But Inhabited
- The Success of Failure, via CNN
- Einstein Actually Had Excellent Grades
- The Physics of Discarded Paper
- The Power of Failing
January 2012
- Offensive Advertising, Increased Sales?
- I Sold Out For Millions, Then Worked At McDonald's
- Steve Jobs on Failure
- The Famous Western Failure
- Thank Goodness for Drug Addicts
December 2011
- It's a Wonderful Failure
- Stadium Destroyed, Reborn
- Failure to Trust the Astronauts
- Failure and the Baggy Pants Tradition
- Failure at The Happiest Place on Earth
- Saving What Was Lost
- FailureBank: A Social Learning Utility
November 2011
- A Thanksgiving Failure
- Harriet Tubman's Clever Lie
- The Failures of Lemieux
- Failed to Return a Text
- Admitting Failure
- A Leaders Job: Support Failure
October 2011
Victory Despite Obstacles
Did you hear about the guy with the terrible case of polio, spent much of his life in a wheelchair and had to fake photo ops to maintain public support? His name was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
It’s easy to forget that FDR had an extremely difficult life. His condition basically left him unable to walk without assistance. There are of course photos of him in a wheelchair, but these rarely made it out to the popular press.
According to Time Magazine:
Members of the press accepted the understanding that images that referenced FDR’s inability to walk were off-limits. Though the arrangement is often characterized as a gentleman’s understanding, it is sure that members of the press knew to violate that understanding would result in a loss of access to the President.
In fact, many of the photos that appeared in the papers were “trick photography.” FDR would actually be leaning on something or propped up by hidden supports. Very rarely would these images imply that he could not walk on his own.
Failure is the secret to success. Great figures often have tragic weaknesses. And in the case of FDR, they sometimes actively work to deceive the general public about these issues! We make choices that impact our lives, and sometimes we must embrace failure to find success. That’s what helped FDR get elected and lead the nation, term after term after term.
-
joe