You Can Fail This Last Time in the Digital Age
By Professor Ojo Emmanuel Ademola
Africa’s First Professor of Cybersecurity and Information Technology Management, Chartered Manager, UK Digital Journalist, Strategic Advisor & Prophetic Mobiliser for National Transformation, and General Evangelist of CAC Nigeria and Overseas
Failure has always shaped humanity, but in the Digital Age ,it cuts deeper and weighs heavier. “You can fail this last time” is no defeat but a rallying cry to resilience and purposeful resolve. Painful yet never terminal, failure is the crucible of innovation and authenticity. In a world where algorithms dictate visibility and reputations shift in a tweet, the stakes are high—but so too are the chances for redemption. To fail “this last time” is to accept setbacks without surrender and turn them into fuel for renewed excellence.
The Digital Age: A Landscape of Opportunity and Risk
The Digital Age is a paradoxical terrain. On one hand, it offers unprecedented opportunities for growth, innovation, and connectivity. On the other hand, it presents challenges that can destabilise even the most established institutions. Technology evolves at breakneck speed, meaning strategies that were effective yesterday may be obsolete today. Organisations and individuals must constantly recalibrate to remain relevant. Unlike in previous eras, failure is now public. Social media ensuress that mistakes are not hidden but broadcast, dissected, and archived. Digital platforms are interconnected, so a failure in one domain—such as cybersecurity—can cascade into reputational, financial, and operational crises.
In this context, failure is not an aberration but an inevitability. The question is not whether one will fail, but how one will respond when failure arrives.
Failure as Catalyst: The Psychology of Resilience
To fail “this last time” is to embrace failure as a catalyst rather than a catastrophe. This requires a psychological shift. Denial prolongs defeat, whereas acknowledgement of failure is the first step towards transformation. Each failure contains lessons, and the Digital Age, with its data-rich environment, provides unparalleled opportunities to analyse missteps and extract insights. Resilience is not passive; it demands assertiveness—the courage to confront failure, the discipline to learn from it, and the conviction to move forward. Failure, then, is not a verdict but a detour. It is a necessary step in the pursuit of mastery.
The Visibility of Failure: Authenticity and Transparency
In the Digital Age, failure is amplified. A misjudged post, a flawed product launch, or a security breach can reverberate globally within minutes. This visibility, though daunting, also presents an opportunity. Authenticity and transparency become critical virtues. By owning failures, individuals and organisations can build credibility. The public is more forgiving of those who admit mistakes and demonstrate a commitment to growth than of those who conceal or deny.
Failure, when embraced openly, becomes a narrative of resilience. It signals not weakness but strength—the strength to confront reality, to learn, and to rise again.
Strategic Implications: Failure as Innovation’s Companion
Innovation and failure are inseparable companions. Every breakthrough is preceded by missteps. The Digital Age, with its emphasis on experimentation and agility, demands a tolerance for failure. The start-up ecosystem thrives on trial and error, where failure is often the price of eventual success. Even established corporations must embrace failure, for those that cling to outdated models risk irrelevance. Careers are no longer linear, and professionals must adapt, reskill, and reinvent themselves. Failure in one role can be the gateway to success in another. Strategically, failure is not a liability but an asset. It provides the raw material for innovation.
Failure as Destiny’s Invitation
To my mind, I underscore with profound clarity that the finality implied in the phrase “this last time” should never be interpreted as a sentence of despair or a declaration of defeat. Rather, it must be understood as a summons to purpose, a call to awaken the deepest reserves of resilience and intentionality within the human spirit. The words carry not the weight of hopelessness but the urgency of destiny. They remind us that the Digital Age, with its relentless pace and unforgiving spotlight, demands that we rise above the temptation to surrender and instead embrace the challenge of purposeful engagement. To fail “this last time” is not to collapse into irrelevance, but to recognise the moment as a turning point—a decisive juncture where one must choose to harness the tools of technology, knowledge, and connectivity with deliberate focus, and to emerge stronger, wiser, and more resolute.
This invitation is not casual; it is deeply existential. It is a summons to engage with one’s destiny at a level that transcends mere survival. In the Digital Age, destiny is not a distant abstraction but a lived reality shaped by choices, strategies, and the courage to confront setbacks. To harness the tools of this era with intentionality is to recognise that digital platforms, networks, and innovations are not neutral instruments but powerful levers of transformation. They can either entrench mediocrity or propel individuals and organisations into new realms of excellence. The difference lies in how failure is perceived and responded to. When approached with assertiveness, failure ceases to be a tombstone marking the end of ambition; it becomes a cornerstone upon which new visions are built.
Failure, when embraced with assertiveness, becomes a transformative force of extraordinary magnitude. It ceases to be a scar of shame and instead becomes a badge of resilience. It propels individuals and organisations towards futures defined not by the shadows of their setbacks but by the brilliance of their capacity to rise above them. In this reframing, failure is not the end of the narrative but the prologue to a new chapter. It is the crucible in which innovation is tested, character is refined, and destiny is clarified. To fail “this last time” is to acknowledge that while the pain of defeat is real, it is also temporary, and that within its lessons lies the seed of renewal.
The Digital Age magnifies both the risks and the rewards of failure. Missteps are often public, dissected in real time, and archived for posterity. Yet this visibility also intensifies the opportunity for transformation. Those who confront failure openly, who admit mistakes with courage, and who demonstrate a commitment to growth, often find themselves elevated in credibility and trust. The act of rising after failure becomes a testimony not only to personal resilience but to collective inspiration. It signals to communities, organisations, and societies that setbacks are not definitive, that destiny is not cancelled by defeat, and that strength is measured not by the absence of failure but by the ability to transcend it.
Thus, the notion of “this last time” is not a warning of final collapse but a declaration of potential. It is a reminder that every failure carries within it the possibility of rebirth. It is the end of one chapter, yes, but simultaneously the beginning of another—one written with greater wisdom, deeper conviction, and renewed intentionality. In this way, failure becomes not a verdict but a vision, not a conclusion but a commencement. It is the moment when individuals and organisations, having confronted their limitations, discover the boundless capacity to rise, to innovate, and to lead with renewed strength.
The Cultural Dimension: Failure in a Hyperconnected Society
Culturally, the Digital Age has altered perceptions of failure. In hyperconnected societies, failure is no longer private. It is communal, shared, and often judged. Yet this communal dimension also creates solidarity. Stories of failure resonate because they are universal. They remind us that perfection is a myth and that resilience is the true measure of greatness. In this sense, failure becomes a cultural resource—a narrative that inspires, educates, and mobilises.
Conclusion: Failure as Declaration of Potential
The Digital Age compels us to redefine failure. It demands courage, relentless learning, and resilience. “You can fail this last time” is not defeat but potential—a summons to authenticity and innovation. Failure is inevitable yet never terminal; it is the prologue to transformation. By embracing it assertively and harnessing its lessons, we rise above setbacks and discover not defeat, but destiny.