December 19, 2012

Those Monsters in the Mirror

As the year comes to an end it is time to set new goals for the new year, but I also start looking at what I have achieved this year. You know all those goals I set this time last year? The ones I mostly didn’t reach?

I didn’t get the library of patterns written, I didn’t develop a big wholesale business, and I didn’t even run a half marathon in under two hours.

I am a failure. 

But what happens when I look at it without all the drama? What can my failures tell me?

My biggest fail was time. I simply imagined I would have a lot more of it than I did. I had a newborn, a 2 year-old, and a kindergartener, and the combination was a huge time sink. I also didn’t manage my time very well. I procrastinated. I generally think that procrastination is a symptom, not the disease itself, so I ask what would have happened if I was very successful this year? I probably would have killed myself with work. I procrastinated instead of admitting to myself that I was not able to handle that kind of commitment. Wholesale is still a goal, and I did get a few accounts, I just need to be realistic about what I can really handle.

Why didn’t I get a fat catalog of patterns written? It was because writing patterns is hard. It twists my brain around in knots and leaves me mentally exhausted. I cannot write a pattern each week and take care of everything else. So instead I am making a more modest goal of releasing a new pattern every month, and promoting it better. Volume is not the goal, quality work and sales are.

And why didn’t I break two hours in the half marathon? All of the above.

I exhausted myself with all my faux working and didn’t take enough time to train.

Realising all of this — that I did not fail because I am a failure, but rather it was a combination of over ambitious goals and bad management — helps me see clearly what I can achieve, and start the new year with better goals and without those monsters in the rearview mirror.

Filed Under: Plot Notes Tagged With: , , 2 Comments
May 21, 2012

choosing to be – or – staring down failure with an ace in my back pocket

This post originally ran in May 2011.

Tenacity by Gwyn Michael

If you haven’t noticed, I am a Seth Godin fan, and again I will refer to him. Seth writes a lot about failure and why it’s good because it means we are trying things, we are “poking the box.” I agree, but it is easier to get behind when you are not in the final stages of what could be a big fail.

Seth has this to say about failure:

The math is magical: you can pile up lots of failures and still keep rolling, but you only need one juicy success to build a career.

The killer is the category called ‘neither’. If you spend your days avoiding failure by doing not much worth criticizing, you’ll never have a shot at success. Avoiding the thing that’s easy to survive keeps you from encountering the very thing you’re after.

And yet we market and work and connect and create as if just one failure might be the end of us.

Aha! I have been doing exactly that, looking at this project as if this one failure could be the end of me. Truth is I already have two new project ideas, most likely better ones.

I have never been much of a sports fan but I am gaining a new respect for athletes. Even with a big paycheck coming it has to be hard to get back out there for the last inning, quarter, whatever when you are losing badly. But they do it, again and again.

It ain’t over ’til it’s over. ~ Yogi Berra

Never have I understood that better. We work hard as entrepreneurs, often alone.

On Friday after a bit of a meltdown I got back in the game and made some changes, one of them being to back away from the work. I was running myself ragged trying and getting nowhere. After a good break I came back and gave the project a makeover. I gave myself time to look at what may not be working and change it. I came up with some new strategies to reach people. I reached out and got some great advice from friends.

Too little too late? We shall see, but I am in til the end whatever the outcome and it kind of sucks, but I can’t say I regret it and I can’t say I won’t try again.

I choose to be.

This week I am not giving much to link to or respond to but I’d like you to answer this:

When the chips are down, what gets you back in the game?

What gives you the tenacity to find the crack in the concrete and grow?

What makes you choose to be?

Filed Under: Conversation Starters, Plot Notes Tagged With: , , , , , 3 Comments
June 20, 2011

Art to Inspire: The 5 Steps to Moving on from Failure

Last week, I was having a conversation with a friend, and one thing that came up was this idea of failure. The word itself seems pretty harsh. Right? It’s always been a negative thing.

“No one wants to fail. It just doesn’t sound like fun.”

Well, that’s true. I wouldn’t put failure into the “fun” category. But you know what?

Sometimes failure is necessary.

You might fail at one thing in order to succeed with another. Or perhaps there is a lesson to be learned? Or a new leaf to be overturned? There is always something that you can “get” from a lack of success. You just have to figure out what it is.

Failure is not for nothing. It is for something.

So, the next time you make a mistake or feel that F word creeping up behind you, use these five simple steps to move on from failure…

We Need Quiet Time by Alli Coate

1. Examine. You need to take control of this situation. Take some time to examine what’s really going on. Whether its just a moment or a few hours.

Beautiful Place by Slide Sideways + Free your Mind by The Wheatfield

2. Get lost. If you don’t allow yourself to get lost, how will you ever find your way back? Find a place where you can get lost in your thoughts. It should be a place you feel safe, comfortable, and even inspired.

3. Talk it out. Think away. Let your mind be free. And ask the tough questions… Why do I feel like I failed? What was it that I didn’t accomplish? What led me to this place? Did I give it my all? What is the next step?

Let it Go by Nan Lawson + Dream Big by Simply Hue

4. Let it go. Now, let it all go. Accept the past and choose to move forward to your future, even if you feel like some things were left unresolved. Choose to leave your past mistakes and failures behind. Bring what you’ve learned with you, and leave the rest.

5. Climb the next mountain. But, most importantly of all… Once that negativity has been drained, never forget to dream big once again. There are other mountains to climb and fish to fry. You will succeed, but you have to keep trying.

What thoughts do you have to share regarding failure?

Share your experiences in the comments below.

Filed Under: brittni {paper n stitch}, illustration | painting, inspiration Tagged With: , , , , 15 Comments
May 9, 2011

choosing to be – or – staring down failure with an ace in my back pocket

Tenacity by Gwyn Michael

Editor’s note: Gwyn is working towards a Kickstarter project. It’s quite ambitious and a bit slow going. She discusses the possibility of failure below.

I am writing this on Mother’s Day. I could have, should have, written it sooner but to be honest I have been so completely preoccupied with “the project” that I almost forgot. I am not a mother and my own mother is long gone, but I do have an awesome mother in-law and she is coming for dinner this evening so I’ll try to keep this short and sweet.

If you haven’t noticed I am a Seth Godin fan and again I will refer to him. Seth writes a lot about failure and why it’s good because it means we are trying things, we are “poking the box.” I agree, but it is easier to get behind when you are not in the final stages of what could be a big fail.

Seth has this to say about failure:

The math is magical: you can pile up lots of failures and still keep rolling, but you only need one juicy success to build a career.

The killer is the category called ‘neither’. If you spend your days avoiding failure by doing not much worth criticizing, you’ll never have a shot at success. Avoiding the thing that’s easy to survive keeps you from encountering the very thing you’re after.

And yet we market and work and connect and create as if just one failure might be the end of us.

Aha! I have been doing exactly that, looking at this project as if this one failure could be the end of me. Truth is I already have two new project ideas, most likely better ones.

I have never been much of a sports fan but I am gaining a new respect for athletes. Even with a big paycheck coming it has to be hard to get back out there for the last inning, quarter, whatever when you are losing badly. But they do it, again and again.

It ain’t over ’til it’s over. ~ Yogi Berra

Never have I understood that better. We work hard as entrepreneurs, often alone. On Friday after a bit of a meltdown I got back in the game and made some changes, one of them being to back away from the work. I was running myself ragged trying and getting nowhere. After a good break I came back and gave the project a makeover. I gave myself time to look at what may not be working and change it. I came up with some new strategies to reach people. I reached out and got some great advice from friends. Too little too late? We shall see, but I am in til the end whatever the outcome and it kind of sucks, but I can’t say I regret it and I can’t say I won’t try again. I choose to be.

This week I am not giving much to link to or respond to but I’d like you to answer this:

When the chips are down, what gets you back in the game? 

What gives you the tenacity to find the crack in the concrete and grow?

What makes you choose to be?

Filed Under: Conversation Starters Tagged With: , , , , 8 Comments
January 29, 2010

okay, my turn…

failure is always an option - linocutboy

when it comes to my own thinking on success, i fall somewhere between lori’s “i’ve always thought of myself as a success” and megan’s “how am i successful right now?”

i’ve got lots of confidence – can you tell? – and a propensity for living in the moment. in fact, failure often feels like success to me. case in point, the only reason i’m doing this job is because of abject failure.

my failures:

  • i failed to attend graduate school, despite a full ride to a fantastic school, because i was scared and didn’t know what i would do with an m.a. in religion.
  • then i failed to find a job that wasn’t in retail.
  • then i failed to get the promotion that i was trained & designated for – although, that might have had something to do with me being 9 months pregnant at the interview.

but even before that final failure came to pass, i was calculating ways to work from home, to land a non-profit job, to earn money from writing. and when that phone call came that i was denied the promotion, as quickly as my heart sank, i was right back to scheming and dreaming.

see, i almost never let even the possibility of failure get me down. there’s always something else.

linocutboy - successful artist print

out of that failure, i created this life for myself. a life where i get to spend the days with my daughter and the nights typing away at the keyboard. a life that allows me to explore my true passions: writing, beautiful things, advocacy. a life that allows me to succeed at my own pace: fast and faster.

but truly, the best part of my job is that my success is your success. i see my ultimate mission – my ultimate success – as promoting your work and expanding this movement towards indie {mindful} thinking & buying. that mission pretty much encompasses everything i’ve ever been good at. and i’m so thankful that you’ve helped me succeed thus far.

so – what “failures” in your life have lead ultimately to success?

{prints by linocutboy via etsy}

Filed Under: illustration | painting, personality, success! Tagged With: , , , , , , 14 Comments