Day 12: "If You've Never Failed You've Never Lived"

I have never really been one of those people who is a big believer in "signs." You know, those things that people say are showing you what the universe has in store for you, or where it is pointing you, or that they are some kind of sign from a higher power.

As I wrote yesterday, I am a skeptic, and I have to have things right in front of my face in order to believe in it. But, I do believe in paying attention and being aware when several things that are quite similar happen during the same day because maybe there's some lesson I can learn from it, or that I can share with others.

The quote in my subject line comes from this video, also labeled "Best Motivation Video Ever." This video is short, a little over a minute. But, it is powerful and I just saw this on my news feed on Facebook, it is all about very famous people, gifted people from Thomas Edison and Walt Disney to Michael Jordan and the Beatles who were all told they weren't good enough, or, weren't very good at the thing that they ultimately became so well known for.

This was the third thing that happened to me today that was all about taking a risk and putting yourself out there; and that in order to be a complete, whole human being, we all have to experience rejection, competition, and failure. But, as one of my good friends always says, the only failure is never to try or do something because the doing is succeeding.

I completely agree with that. I have found that only through being rejected from employers, graduate schools, dozens of publishers, and even romantic partners, that I learned how strong I am and how to not only survive being rejected, but to come back even stronger. It also reveals to you just how strong your passion or desire is for something. If you are going to let other people's opinions stop you, then you are never going to get anywhere.

Nobody can teach you this, you have to live it and to experience it for yourself because once you "fail" and get back up, there's not much anybody can throw at you that you can't come back from.

 "If You've Never Failed You've Never Lived."