Summary
In this episode of Best Fails, Alison Beckles sits down with JK McQuinn for a deeply honest conversation about failure, resilience, and the lifelong work of personal growth. Together, they explore the power of embracing imperfection and the wisdom we can draw from nature—particularly JK’s reminder that nature doesn’t do perfection, and neither should we.
JK reflects on a past failure that still makes her toes curl, sharing candidly how her community played a pivotal role in helping her recover, rebuild, and reshape her relationship with failure. She introduces the idea that what we call “mistakes” are often simply “miss-takes”—moments where we miss the mark, learn, and try again.
The conversation delves into the dual discomfort of navigating ambiguity and the emotional complexity that accompanies failure. JK speaks to the courage required to sit with uncertainty, as well as the profound relief and growth that can come from finally letting go. At its heart, this episode is a celebration of self‑discovery, the quiet strength found in community, and the courage to honour our own growth. It reminds us to celebrate not only the people who lift us up, but also the moments when we become our own heroes—choosing to rise, to learn, and to keep moving forward after we fall.
Takeaways
- Embrace imperfection and honor the beauty in what’s broken.
- Accountability and growth don’t require perfection; they require presence.
- Nature does not do perfection; neither do we.
- Failure is a community resource; share it to help others.
- Navigating failure involves understanding the impact on oneself and others.
- Naming the shame associated with failure can help in processing it.
- Feedback is essential for growth; seek it proactively.
- Differentiate between what you desire and what you need to succeed.
- Celebrate your own resilience and the journey through failure.
- Surround yourself with supportive people who believe in you.
Sound Bites
- “Accountability and growth don’t require perfection.”
- “Nature does not do perfection; neither do we.”
- “The journey through failure is a path to growth.”
- “I have always wanted to take risks. and I recognize that with that will come failure.”
- “I always talk about it’s not mistakes, it’s miss- takes”
- “Someone else’s opinion is none of your business.”
- “We can learn from a failure, but sometimes the learning is to let it go”
- “I’ve learned to see them (failure) as like nourishment even in the most painful and discomforting parts of them”
- “Find your own recipe for surviving failure, which comes from failing more, unfortunately.”
- “It’s you that takes yourself beyond the failure.”
- “We should celebrate all of our failures.”
- “There’s a lot of shame and embarrassment in failure and I think that that can be really debilitating. So name the shame that you’re feeling to someone safe”
- “Your failure is not who you are, it’s the thing that’s happened to you”
Chapters
Chapters
00:00 Reflections on Recording Challenges
01:20 Personal Stories and Connections
03:31 Nature-Based Coaching Philosophy
04:33 Childhood Experiences and Cultural Transitions
07:26 Navigating Change and Finding Resilience
07:56 First Memories of Failure
08:47 The Complexity of Early Emotions
10:54 The Dichotomy of Failure and Elation
15:54 Friendship: Layers of Connection
16:02 Gratitude and Life Lessons
22:32 Sharing Personal Stories of Failure
23:55 Navigating Early Failures
26:18 The Emotional Impact of Failure
28:30 Understanding Ambiguity in Failure
40:11 Finding Clarity and Feedback
44:30 Crafting a Path Forward
49:23 Celebrating Resilience and Growth
JK’s Profile
J-K, (Jennie-Kate McQuinn) is founder, coach & facilitator of Where the Mind Grows a Nature-Based coaching & consultancy based in Yorkshire
Before setting up her coaching ventures, back in 2017 and 2019 – respectively, JK was a senior leader with a background in public, private and third sector health and employability services, which included leading people, teams, projects and partnerships.
JK’s experience ranges from working in a medium secure psychiatric setting to community led projects focused on employment for people with lived experience from a variety of recovery needs. It also includes successfully managing teams of people who had faced offending, addiction, mental health issues and other diverse lived experiences, as well as people moving through refugee and asylum status with experience of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), trafficking and modern slavery making regular conversations & considerations within her team.
JK left her role in leadership to start her own coaching and facilitation, recognising that many of the impactful organisations she worked for, who were caring for some of societies biggest needs and issues, often over-looked essential time, energy and cultures needed to help staff maintain their own well-being.
Through nature-based and regenerative coaching approaches JK now helps individuals and teams reconnect with themselves in Nature, getting curious about what resilience, balance and compassionate and courageous communication truly means in these complex times. Helping explore ways that people and planet can value their uniqueness and thrive.
Inspired by Nature, JK embraces failure as a part of learning and development, for herself personally and the people she works alongside; with one of her favourite mantras to share being – ‘Nature doesn’t do perfection’
Contact JK
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jk-jennie-kate-mcquinn/
Website: Coaching | Where The Mind Grows – Coaching in Nature | United Kingdom
Episode Links
YouTube: https://youtu.be/iNlqSbuptiY
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0s8odsOVCJgqtTxW1490Y4?si=69Aa0-JVRJ2f7jcoEq2EPg
