One of the reasons people stop learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure. – John Gardner
I like this equating of learning to risking failure. I’m proud that I learned to snowboard about three years ago, because I about died from all the falling I had to do in order to learn. I almost gave up after 3 hours of painful crashing, then suddenly ‘got it.’ I love the sport now and expect to keep doing it for years to come. It helps to put Real Joe in this same frame, i.e., I’ve taken a risk, I’m crashing a fair amount and it hurts, I’ve learned a ton, and somehow this experience will be beneficial no matter what comes next.