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Facing Down Failure

Posted By: Randy GageMarch 25, 2023

Once upon a time, there was a struggling writer who wrote stories that spoke to his soul.  They were quirky, poetic, and the public wasn’t buying them.  Even some of his writer colleagues ridiculed him.  One day in desperation his wife beseeched, “Why don’t you write books people can read?”

Ouch.  Imagine yourself in that scenario.  What would you do?

This guy knew what he would do. He kept writing, believing people would understand someday.  And even if they didn’t, writing was something he was compelled to do.  By the way, his name was James Joyce, who today is regarded as one of the most important and influential authors of the 20th century.

The challenges, obstacles, and setbacks you face define you – or cause you to grow enough to redefine yourself.  Now take this idea and apply it to failure…

You can’t become an agent of real change unless you are willing to face failure.  Not just the potential of failure, but failure itself.  Because if you’re not facing occasional washouts, you’re not really pushing yourself.  And if you haven’t manifested at least one spectacular failure by now, then you’ve probably been playing it safe.

Iron sharpens iron. You will never develop into who you are meant to become by playing it safe.  When you’re not challenging yourself, you’re not growing.  And if you’re not growing, you’re not reaching your true potential.  And that, is an insult to the force that created you.

If you are committed to becoming the highest possible version of yourself, you’ve also got to be committed to failing forward.  That might mean professing your love to someone only to discover they don’t feel the same toward you, writing an opera that never gets performed, or launching a business that goes bankrupt.

Recognize and embrace that reality, because anything less is just playing safe.

Peace,

- RG

P.S. If you’re the type of person I wrote this essay for, you need to be at TRIBAL ‘23.  I promise you this event will be the single most transformational experience of your career.  Really.  Details here:  http://tribalevent.com/

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One comment on “Facing Down Failure”

  1. What would you do? I dunno, I'd write something that's got a plot, characters you could relate to, something you could get into, instead of that near gibberish.. same with that hack David Foster Wallace.. Infinite Jest that people wank off about.. another pile of 900 plus pages of near gibberish that just ends.. oh you just don't get it.. you're right I don't.. put some Yoko Ono on the stereo, give me a natural wine that tastes and smells like someone's sock, or a vegan meal of some mashed wheat grass and some fermented rice, how about a movie fest of the Lord of the Rings and all 3 Matrix movies mashed together.. guaranteed to cure your insomnia.. toss in the The Wire.. it's the best series ever!!! Nooo it's the dullest series ever!! Ten minutes of watching cops hang police tape... zzz... ten minutes of watching a cop go grocery shopping.. zzzz...sorry for the rant...ha ha.. music, films, books, food, it's all so subjective, what is one person's gold is another person's shit.. makes life fun.. be really boring if everyone liked the same things.. cheers David

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  • One comment on “Facing Down Failure”

    1. What would you do? I dunno, I'd write something that's got a plot, characters you could relate to, something you could get into, instead of that near gibberish.. same with that hack David Foster Wallace.. Infinite Jest that people wank off about.. another pile of 900 plus pages of near gibberish that just ends.. oh you just don't get it.. you're right I don't.. put some Yoko Ono on the stereo, give me a natural wine that tastes and smells like someone's sock, or a vegan meal of some mashed wheat grass and some fermented rice, how about a movie fest of the Lord of the Rings and all 3 Matrix movies mashed together.. guaranteed to cure your insomnia.. toss in the The Wire.. it's the best series ever!!! Nooo it's the dullest series ever!! Ten minutes of watching cops hang police tape... zzz... ten minutes of watching a cop go grocery shopping.. zzzz...sorry for the rant...ha ha.. music, films, books, food, it's all so subjective, what is one person's gold is another person's shit.. makes life fun.. be really boring if everyone liked the same things.. cheers David

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