Failure can become your teacher.

Sometimes failure is better than success—it humbles you, drives you, and shifts you to where you need to be.

Case in point: chess.

Dan, an old colleague of mine in school, was exceptional at chess, and I would lose all the time. I didn’t play to win; I played to get better because I understood he had years of experience and I was just starting to learn.

Learning chess wasn’t about beating an opponent—it was about playing against myself. It was about better strategies, deeper thinking, seeing the next steps, remembering past mistakes and patterns, and being proactive instead of reactive.

THE POWER OF FEELINGS IN GROWTH

Failure does something success can also do—they both anchor moments you can reference later. The difference is the feelings attached.

If you can shift the feelings of shame and pain in failure into lessons, you can use them to avoid repeating mistakes. Feelings are good—they make us alive—but how you use them matters most.

Treat wins the same as losses: as fuel to improve. Winning shows progress, but if you repeat the same patterns without evolving, you’ll eventually lose. Your opponent will adapt—and beat you.

INPUTS & OUTPUTS

Understanding is having control of your choices and learning from the movement of those choices. Life is like chess—each decision affects the board.

That’s why goals are essential. Each day, as you play the game of life with every person you interact with, you must see yourself moving closer to those goals.

Analyze your inputs—the variables of choices, actions, and strategies—and your outputs—the results and outcomes.

If you refine your inputs daily, the outputs will align with your vision. Master the process, and you’ll always progress.

THE WINNING MINDSET

Winning isn’t just an outcome—it’s a learned behavior. It’s asking:

• What did I do wrong?
• What did I do better?

Don’t get lost in the outcome—dive deeper into the inputs. If you master the variables of your actions, you become an unstoppable force. Big goals give you vision, and your small, intentional moves—the placement of your pieces—lead you toward your checkmate.

Each day, you play a game against yourself. Take time to master your peace (piece).

FINAL THOUGHT

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” — Proverbs 21:5

Like chess, life rewards those who think ahead, adapt to change, and commit to steady, intentional progress. Your moves today shape the victories of tomorrow.

— Early Boykins III