Life's Funny That Way

Failure... and Growth

If you think you will fail, fail gloriously – Day 5 Journal Entry

Even if you think you will fail, you still have to give it all that you have.  You may surprise yourself, or help may come from a place you least expected.    It’s about a “can do,” “never give up,” attitude.  We are starting a small business right now.  Reading this, you are probably thinking…. “In this economy?”  Of course.  Why not?  If you wait for the absolute right conditions, the absolute right timing and for all of the stars to be in place before you act, you will never act.  I firmly believe that, and I always have. 

You have two options in the world.  You can sit on the couch and wait for life to happen to you, or you can go out there and happen to it.  How many millionaires do you think made it big on their first attempt?  Better yet, how many successful authors got a book contract their first time out in the market?

My problem with this prompt is the word “fail.”  Failure is the end of something.  There is no failure if one keeps trying.  Learning experiences?  Oh, those are many in what one may call failure.  Is a rejection letter a failure?  Maybe, to a writer who does not want to learn… for a writer who does, it spurs them on to do more, better, etc.  In this context, I take the word “fail” as a momentary bump in the road.  If you are going to do something that you truly believe in, then you must do it gloriously and grandly.  Put yourself out there.  Do what you believe in! 

An old quote says, “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”  It’s true. Yes, I’ve gone to business school and run businesses for a long time.  There are feasibility studies, market analyses, and many other, logical things that must be done to ensure that you are doing the right thing at the right time…. But it’s 80% heart.  Another person could have the same idea at the same time…. What, was Bill Gates all alone in his thoughts… no!  No one else pursued their thoughts (in that particular segment) with the ferocity of a man who is hungry and who knows he can prove himself. 

Even if you think you will fail, fail gloriously…. It’s about going for it.  It’s about doing what you believe.  It’s about believing enough that, sooner or later, others start to believe as well.  That’s most of the battle right there!

My parting thought on this:  there is no failure where there is growth.



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