Traveling Beyond “Failure”
(Abraham) Lincoln, (J.K.) Rowling, (Michael) Jordan, (Thomas) Edison, and (Walt) Disney are all famously successful in some realm of life.
All of them have famous “failure” stories. One thing they did not do is take on “failure” as a description of themselves.
Years ago, I entered a photograph into a professional photographer association’s competition. The judges panel discussion was open to attendees. Without knowing who was in the room, the judges discussed the images frankly.
The powerful lesson I learned that day was, it is the work and not the person being evaluated. I even learned that judges can be completely mistaken in what they are seeing. One judge commented about my black & white entry, “I really like to see a color image that appears almost black and white”.
People who are able to travel beyond an outcome labeled “failure” never let the label apply to themselves.
“Do not attach yourself to an outcome.”
