Getting Lost is How We Learn The Way
“The best mentor isn’t the most successful one, but the one most honest about their failures.”
LIFE LONG LEARNING
Jenni Maria
11/11/20253 min read
Not the small kind of failure you can laugh off with a smile. But the kind that leaves you staring at the ceiling, wondering: “Is this life… or just an endless plot twist?”
I’ve been there. In the middle of shame, exhaustion and confusion, I once asked myself: “What’s the point of learning, if I end up falling anyway?”
And of course, life answered in its usual way: Not with words, but with quiet surprises that whispered, “Oh… so this is what it means.”
The most important lessons didn’t come from expensive classrooms. They came from those moments when I was completely lost forced to install a kind of Google Maps of the heart just to find my way forward again.
People from different cultures and generations each have their own ways of describing failure. Some refer to it as “starting over.” Some refer to it as "figuring out life."
Some people simply shrug and say, “Well… that happened.” But the truth remains the same: We all experience falls — sometimes quite suddenly.
John C. Maxwell calls failure the price of growth. Einstein reminded us that never making mistakes means never trying anything new.
And in Southeast Asia, there’s a popular idea that “Failure is simply a teacher in disguise.” Though sometimes the disguise is a little too convincing. Getting lost frequently can improve our understanding of the map. Fear becomes courage. Confusion turns into clarity. And chaos turns into… well, a good story later.
Eventually, we find out that: The true failure isn’t in falling down, but in choosing not to try again. Jack Ma said it simply: “If you don’t give up, you still have a chance.” Sometimes, that’s all we need one more chance, taken gently.
Across continents and cultures, many well-known figures faced setbacks. Charles Dickens worked in a factory as a child. Florence Nightingale defied expectations when no one believed her.
Thomas Edison failed thousands of times. Nelson Mandela spent years in prison. J.K. Rowling faced multiple rejections. Steve Jobs was fired from the company he created. Oprah Winfrey was told she wasn’t suitable for TV. Jack Ma faced rejection everywhere, even at KFC.
From Asia and Southeast Asia: Toyota rejected Soichiro Honda. Tan Hooi Ling (Grab) faced investor doubt. Chairul Tanjung faced multiple early failures. Najwa Shihab handled intense pressure in journalism. What unites them? They stayed in the story even when the chapter looked bad. Failure wasn’t their ending. It was just a chaotic middle.
People who get up after failing are not necessarily the strongest. They are simply the ones who keep learning even when things feel uncertain. Brené Brown said it beautifully: “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” And she’s right. Being open isn’t a weakness it’s how we become more human, not less.
There’s a saying I’ve always loved: “The best mentors aren’t the ones with perfect stories but the ones who aren’t afraid to tell you where they fell.” A mentor isn’t someone who tells you what to do. A mentor is someone who says, “I’ve been lost too. Let’s figure this out together.”
And Yes I’ve Had My Own “Cracked but Still Standing” Moments. I won’t go into details. Let’s just say my life went through phases where everything felt like weak Wi-Fi slow, unstable and disconnected at the worst times. But from those cracks, I learnt to rebuild myself. Not in a dramatic, movie-style transformation but quietly. With honesty. With patience. And understanding that “slow progress” is still progress.
Sometimes courage doesn’t roar. Sometimes it whispers: “Alright. Let’s try again today.” And surprisingly, those small steps moved me forward into work, study, motherhood and creating spaces like StudiKarsa, where learning feels human, warm and shared.
Because honestly: No one is meant to do life alone. Not learning. Not rising. Not rebuilding. And maybe that’s where real strength begins in the courage to walk, slowly but surely, side by side.
#LifelongLearning #MindfulCareer #StudiKarsa