Well, it's New Years Day--do you make resolutions? Many do; few keep them. The key to it all is simple perspective: you're not making a list for the year itself, but rather reminding yourself of the things you'll work on over the year as part of an ongoing process of self-improvement. Will you fail? Of course. The real question is will you keep trying. You see, that's the whole key to failure that professionals understand and amateurs don't: failure is a vital part of success.
Think about all the entrepreneurs who are successful today, but still have battle scars from the businesses they lost--people like Steve Jobs and Henry Ford.
Consider the countless manuscripts that came hot off the typewriter of a famous author that were rejected before the big one landed--like Hunter S. Thompson and Stephen King whose .
Keep in mind the myriad actors and actresses who were told they would never get a part only to years later walk the red carpet--like Sidney Poitier and Harrison Ford and Denzel Washington.
Reflect on all the rags to riches stories in the music and entertainment industry--those who had to fight and struggle day in and out to get a break--like Oprah Winfrey who was fired from her job as a news reporter because she was "unfit for TV," and J.K. Rowling who was on welfare, penniless, and trying to raise a child before reaching remarkable literary fame and success.
Remember all the stories you read only this year about those who made it through unspeakable odds to accomplish what they thought was unattainable, or to surmount what was seemingly insurmountable.
Go back through history and read about the innumerable politicians, history makers, inventors, athletes, olympians, artists, writers, architects, actors--all the tries and failures and re-tries: Winston Churchill, Vincent Van Gogh, Michael Jordan, The Beatles, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Frank Lloyd Wright, and on and on...
Try, fail, fail again...
So if you're sitting there (or standing) reading this, and you've made a list of resolutions or things you want to attain this year, and you're feeling trepidatious and foolish for thinking you even stand a chance of making that accomplishment, remember this: you will fail; you will have set backs; you will fall short; your attempt won't be perfect; your success may take trying beyond your ability to try again. But it's ok. If you believe in your
You will fail--the real question is, will you try again?
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