We've had a lot of bantering about of the word "maverick" but I think many of the people who followed the beat of their own inner drum, are the true mavericks. The Steve Jobs', J.K. Rowlings', and Richard Bransons' of the world.

They lapped up failure like it's the elixir of life. I love Winston Churchill's definition of failure: "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

That pretty well describes all the mavericks I know.

I heard a few snippets of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling giving a commencement address at Harvard on the subject of the blissfulness of failure. OK ,she didn't use the word "blissfulness" but talked about the "benefits" of failure and how each failure deepened her desire to do the one thing she wanted to do. Write.

She said hitting rock bottom made her look at herself squarely in the mirror and see herself for what she really was. It takes a lot to tell the truth about ourselves and frankly, many of us turn the other cheek when it comes right down to it.

A lot of people give lip service to wanting to be a national name or a national brand. They look into a mirror often reflecting small lies and inconsistencies. I was kind of stunned when I got an email the other day from a guy who had received that coveted call from an Oprah Winfrey producer.

He called me in a panic to get media coaching so he'd pass the Oprah producer's audition. In his email to me he said, "I have your CD on how to get on Oprah and it felt like it was too much work so I did not do anything you said to do. Now I have been called and want to know if you have openings and what the cost would be to talk with you about coaching me on how to handle the producer."

Hello? That's not the kind of guest Oprah or any other national TV show host wants. They want people dedicated, devoted to their craft, business, product, service or cause, not some guy unwilling to clock in the hours to do his best at every moment.

I remember when I was learning to ski and the instructor told me if I wasn't scooting down moguls on my a_s at least half the time I wasn't trying hard enough. That night I had my backside to the fire for a good long while.

Whether it's skiing, or writing, or becoming a national brand, now is the time to fail. Not from laziness but because you were willing to take the risk when you had everything to lose. But don't do it on national TV. Practice sliding down the bunny slope in your own backyard before you go scaling the top of the highest mountain.