Failure. I'll be honest, failure frightens me. Breaking free from the safety of my normal routines gives me anxiety. I like sticking with what's comfortable, and publishing a book is about seventy bajillion miles out in East Jesus (well beyond my comfort zone).
But the thing is, since I've started writing, I've never felt more alive.
Sara Blakely, the CEO of Spanx, proudly reminisced about her childhood in a video for Business Insider. She discusses how her father would ask her and her brother what they had failed at that day, at the dinner table. And he would celebrate it. As a CEO, she loves reflecting on her mistakes, her company's mistakes. Openly. Like in public. And she learns from them, side by side with her colleagues. And so they learn, and try again.
What I love about her statement about failure is that it's just part of the journey. We discover, we search, we fall, and we press on. Failure is human.
Perhaps that's why I feel so alive. I know I might fail, and all my efforts for the last year might be a flop. But I'm still doing the damn thing. I'm proud that I broke free from the norm, and tried something terrifying.
So let me ask you this. Have you failed yet today? If you did, then I applaud you. Now, what's next?
"What if I fall? Oh, but darling, what if you fly?"
-Erin Henson
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