Failing Enthusiastically
By Missy Park • Mar 31st, 2009 • Category: Interact“Success is moving from failure to failure enthusiastically.”
Winston Churchill
Some may feel sorry for, or even derisive of, the Sarah Palins, Martha Stewarts and Carly Fiorinas of the world. My own response is often tinged with a bit of envy, “Wow, I bet she’s learning a lot.”
Success may be the kindest teacher, but failure is a very efficient one.
Never do I learn more than when I am in the midst of a colossal failure.
It’s this kind of learning which delivers a confidence, a confidence forged best in the furnace of failure.
So here’s to having not only the confidence to risk failure but the enthusiasm to embrace it. Let’s start now: sharing and celebrating our failures and the learning that came with them.
Can’t get enough? Read about Title Nine’s Annual “Big Mistake” Contest. There is a method to the Madness.
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I have always watched politics from afar-only taking an active role when I had my first visceral reaction to the Facist that is now in office.
When I saw the sneering, arrogant, elitist hatred from the Left directed at Sarah Palin and her family-all because she doesn’t think like you-talk like you-etc-it became apparent to me that I had FAILED as an
American citizen because I had not been more involved in politics-that I had been gullible and naive to think that a Socialist- a Communist -that in his words and deeds shows his hatred for this country-would be elected President of my country.
Your snarky comment on page 2 re:Palin makes me that much more determined in keeping your like-minded representatives out of office.
I have always been a believer that “out of all bad comes good”. Whether the bad is something out of your control, such as an accident or illness, there are always lessons of life in it, you have pull from deep inside to make better or change. On the same sense to admit wrong, or a mistake, not blame it on someone else or some other circumstance, not only makes you a stronger person, but a better person.
I too am of the mid-forty age, and have had plenty of “failures”, some are totally unbelievebale even in my own mind, after I have lived through them. The hardest thing to ever learn was to quit blaming “everyone and everything” else for my “failure” , to throw the words “I’m stressed” out of the vocabulary and pretend they are an evil curse word. To stand in the mirror every morning and say I made these choices, right, wrong or indifferent, now how do I either make them better and correct them. I do strongly believe my failures have made me a success, at least my own mind, and it is the one that counts!
On my continueing list of corrections is to day by day become more active and try more activities, although I do not live where I can surf, kayak, canoe and even biking is hard with the wind. But there are still many activities that can be done. Title Nine catalog enspires me, and yes I do wear the clothes, each year I buy more, I don’t have a model body, I feel these clothes are for the 30 to 90 year old!
I almost feel a bit inadequate adding my remarks after the terrific musings of the predecessors of this piece, but here goes:
failure is frequently hard to accept but it is true there is no greater teacher. I truly feel I have been enrolled in Failure 101 recently, especially during the latest 2 years out of my 43 yr residency on PlanetEarth. Of course I launched my business right at the start of the recession (what perfect timing!) and have spent a ton of time & money getting my new little product off the ground. I’m facing a giant tide of Buyers staring down Bankruptcy, and others who don’t return phone calls or give you the time of day (you have what?!)… I’ve learned alot about the uspto, QC, LCL, EDI, 3PL, and a whole bunch of other subjects I never thought I’d have to know a whit about before…but now with which so much of my world is tied up intricately.
Adding to it all, most of my family thinks I’m crazy for doing this and on top of that, my husband has been out of work for 2 months (so far). Sometimes I feel I’m not giving adequate attention to our 4-year old daughter with all the business dealings that need to be done, so I feel like I’ve failed her to a degree as well. I know there are only so many hours in a day and just try to do the best I can. Times will change and things will get better I’m optimistic. Last week’s high after my PortaPocket line was featured on NBC’s Today Show was a great start. Gotta keep the faith and keep learning from the failures…wasn’t it Edison who failed 700+ or so times before he found that filament that worked!?
Wow! So many interesting thoughts and experiences from so many different walks of life. I am happy to say: Yes Sarah, some people get up at 4:30 am to run, skate, surf, bike or whatever, because it’s a better fix than Prozac. And Yes accomplishments come in the everyday details of finally getting our kids to try/do/understand something new or even (us) being able to use the bathroom without someone knocking on the door, or to completing our first race. Everyone one of the those accomplishments are ours and should be celebrated.
I love getting the new catalog, reading the captions and looking at the new products (it’s what I would consider my last book read or at least finished). Seeing these women enjoying the world around them inspires me to do the same. And Yes Kim and Nancy women (of not model statue) and over 40 years, wear Title Nine clothes and love them!