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Failure, culture and career: what really influences our decisions

Mille parcours pro au micro

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Failure, culture and career: what really influences our decisions

Episode description
French

Welcome to Mille Parcours Pro at the microphone🎙️

Why are we so afraid of failing?

In France, failure is often perceived as a mistake.
At school, in guidance, in the world of work, we are taught to avoid it at all costs.

But is it really failure that is blocking us... Or the fear it causes?

In this episode, I propose to deconstruct this word.

Through examples of personalities such as Walt Disney or Rafael Nadal, a cultural comparison between France and the United States, and the teachings of the book The Virtues of Failure by Charles Pépin, we will explore:

  • How our culture shapes our relationship to risk

  • Why failure can be so hard to take

  • How it can nevertheless become a lever for learning

  • And how it influences our orientation and career choices

Whether you are thinking about your future, retraining, or supporting young people in their choices, this episode invites you to ask yourself an essential question:

👉 What if the greatest failure wasn't falling... but never daring to try?

About the podcast

The podcast Mille parcours pro au micro germinated in my head for several years. Since 2022, I have been brainstorming on this project, which makes a lot of sense to me. Time passed and I didn't dare to take the plunge. Then, in 2025, during a conversation with my nephew, this spark was ignited again. He had just obtained his baccalaureate and was completely lost on his future. We talked for several hours, my only objective being to reassure him and give him confidence, everything was going to be fine. Following these discussions, I got back to work. Gradually, a draft of the project took shape. With no particular technical knowledge on the subject, I started in January, constantly repeating to myself "better done than perfect". 3 months later, 10 episodes have been published and many more are to come. The target audience is between 15 and 25 I would say, they are looking for themselves, are asking themselves questions about their future, are afraid of making mistakes and wonder how to start a career. Parents, teachers and caregivers of young people are also an important target of this project. The ultimate goal of this podcast is to have a library of lots of different jobs, that we don't always suspect and/or for which we don't really know the missions, to have access to a lot of different careers to have lots of testimonies to identify with, and to discuss in a sometimes a little more philosophical way during solo episodes always on the world of work.

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