It Is What It Is

When we don’t get what we want…is it fear, lack of opportunity, of luck or of ambition?

In the last few days this memorable passage has incessantly popped into my mind:

Your biggest failure. Amazingly, it’s not that great thing your did with good intent that ended in disaster. No, your biggest failure is the thing you dreamed about contributing, but didn’t find the guts to do it.*

When we do something that does not turn out well, it’s a lesson, and saying this does not mean that I find excuses for a job not so well done. No, it is a lesson if we are brave enough to open our minds and to accept our mistakes. One of my good friends and also my mentor confirmed this after we exchanged a bunch of emails on a certain project, had a few talks and the end result was not nearly what she expected. So, when I told her that I felt awful for making such stupid mistakes, she wisely said: You don’t have to feel awful. Don’t apologize. This is how we learn. Sometimes it’s painful and hard, but this is a moment of celebration.

So I realized that being able to accept mistakes and failure as part of your life makes it a lot easier. And it makes you happier. We don’t need to control everything, we need to experiment. And finally, the difference between successful people and those who aren’t lies also in the fact that the ones in the first category allow themselves to be vulnerable.

Being able to strip the outside “layers” and to show who you really are, to share your passion and your art, to risk being wrong – that’s vulnerability. Stop protecting yourself and start making a difference.

Maybe this insightful talk will inspire you to brake the walls you have build around yourself and to start connecting. And don’t forget, never stop challenging your inner artist.

*Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception