"Never, ever discount failure -- learn from it, ask yourself what you did wrong, and challenge yourself to use your knowledge to get it right this time..."

Reshaping Setbacks and the Importance of Failure: Jason Saltzman
October marks World Mental Health Month, highlighting the energising words of Jason Saltzman, educator, mentor and CEO of Relief. His experiences with mental health issues have influenced the foundations of Relief, which aims to make financial relief accessible to everyone. In this week's quote, Saltzman speaks up about the importance of failure and the insights we can gain from our downfalls:

Leading by Example and Breaking Stigma
Jason Saltzman's background is extensive: he is an entrepreneur with expertise in business development, brand marketing and technology. He has spent over a decade mentoring and advising small businesses and disruptive startups. He is also committed to education as a Professor at Florida International University, where he created numerous mentorship programmes linking students to successful startup founders. In 2020, Saltzman moved on to found Relief, a company which builds a digital solution to overwhelming credit card debt. Relief was born out of Saltzman's own experiences with toxic debt, which he notes is often directly linked to mental illness in America. Through Relief, Saltzman strives to support individuals and help them to live more enriched and stable lives.
In addition to his work with startups, Jason Saltzman has often spoken up about his own experiences with mental health issues and the importance of being open about these experiences, especially in the workplace. Saltzman has struggled with anxiety disorder. His decision to openly speak out about his experiences sets an example. It inspires employees to follow in his footsteps, leading to more accessible and supportive work cultures.
Saltzman's experiences with mental health issues have moulded his path to leadership, teaching him the importance of failure and reflecting on former struggles which form central foundations for success. Saltzman's quote is a reminder that leaders are born from constant learning, reflection and adaptability, not from linear journeys.
Leadership Grounded in Reflection and Resolve
Saltzman's quote highlights that failures shouldn't be experiences to be buried but key milestones and learning opportunities that can be analysed and adapted. Failures can be interpreted as challenges to overcome rather than setbacks and a base on which to build, grow and power individuals to reach great heights. Saltzman's insights remind us to embrace our missteps and see them in a constructive light: true leaders are born from seeing opportunities in their mistakes.
His insights into leadership align with the Laidlaw values of being #Brave and #Determined. Bravery pushes us to confront our less proud moments and move beyond them. Determination allows us to drive forward with purpose despite the challenges we might face.
A Call to Reflect
As we celebrate World Mental Health Month and take a moment to consider Jason Saltzman's leadership, let’s ask ourselves: how can we change our views around failure, turning them into opportunities for growth? Are we using our setbacks to fuel our successes? The leadership journey can be difficult and includes many obstacles. However, when we look at these hurdles in a different light, they become windows of opportunity and broaden our points of reference.
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