I am going to start this tirade by denouncing success and embracing failure.
If you have never screwed up, if you have never lost, if you have never been utterly denied, then you have not been successful.
First, for arguments sake, we must define "success"... and that for me is easy. I have found that success if nothing else, can only be distinguished on an individual basis. For success is the parallel alignment of ones thoughts and actions and those are not exactly the same for any two people alive. Simply put, it is a world where cognitive dissonance is eliminated.
I don't think success is an end goal, because the achievement of one thing only leads to the void of another. An idealistic success is most beautifully perceived as a journey. A journey where are you doing what you are thinking, and you are thinking about what you're feeling, and they are all complementing each other.
If you have never failed then you have never tried. End of story. Consistency is stealing the vitality out of you one day at a time. The simpleton doesn't risk the 'no', because even though he is not achieving success, he is content that has never failed. To do nothing is often worse a crime than doing the wrong something.
They say the great majority of men are bundles of beginnings. Because, there are no endings in this world. Endings only mark other beginnings, and a failure in one thing is just the beginning of the next endeavor.
Fall down 7 times, get up 8. We know this.
Don't let anybody tempt you into believing otherwise, cause g-d help me they will.
I'm not telling you that we will always get what were after, but if we are earnestly trying, if we are pushing towards that place, then often the feeling we are looking for is found along the way.... and in the fractional chance that it isn't, then at least we can be without regret knowing we gave it our best shot.
Josh Billings asked us to consider the postage stamp... it's sole purpose was to stick on to something until it gets there.
Dorian
