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Apr 9, 2026 22 min

Not Wasting a Failure Matters

from Matters of Influence Hosted by Debbie Frapp

Welcome to another episode of the Matters of Influence podcast with your hosts, Debbie Frapp and Terrie Foster Nowland! In this longer-than-usual episode, we dive deep into a topic we all face but rarely embrace: Failure. Inspired by the teachings of John Maxwell and his upcoming book, How to Get a Return on Failure, Debbie and Terrie discuss why failure itself isn’t our problem—wasting the failure is.Tune in as we explore how to change our relationship with failure and learn why failure is simply a comma, not a period. We discuss how to spot a "good miss," why keeping success and failure close together is essential for growth, and what it truly means to "embrace the hard". As John Maxwell says, you simply don't drift uphill!In this episode, we cover: The Red Ink Effect: How early childhood conditioning with "red ink" in school shapes our negative relationship with failure. Good Miss vs. Bad Miss: It is not about the miss, it is about what you do after the miss. A "good miss" helps you make critical adjustments. Embracing the Hard: Why you must embrace difficult challenges to grow, and why you cannot coast to a desired location without hill climbing. Keeping Success and Failure Together: Why these two concepts are meant to be kept close so they can complement each other; when forced apart, they fight against each other. Success is a Lousy Teacher: Breaking down Bill Gates' famous quote and exploring why leaning into failure provides far richer lessons than success ever could. Don't skip the lesson just to escape the pain! If this episode resonates with you, be sure to check out John Maxwell's new book and the hosts' book, Your Greatest Opponent, You. Be sure to also check out the workbook section at the end of the failure chapter.Connect with us! Find more nuggets of wisdom by following Matters of Influence, as well as Debbie and Terrie personal pages, on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Send us a message and let us know what lessons you are learning from your failures.

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Not Wasting a Failure Matters

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This episode was published on April 9, 2026.

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