Call it "Failure" if you must; but Embrace it nonetheless
February 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I recently saw a television commercial for the Dyson cyclone vacuum cleaner. The entire commercial was focused on the fact that there had been 5,000 unsuccessful prototypes before arriving at what is arguably one of the best machines on the market. The designer, James Dyson, prided himself — and his team of engineers — on the joy with which they accepted “failure;” because they know that failure paves the road to success.
That commercial made me think of Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison once said to a reporter, who had asked how it felt to fail 25,000 times, “I don’t know why you are calling it a failure. I now know 25,000 ways not to make a battery. What do you know?” Thomas Edison was asked a similar question when asked how it felt to fail 2,000 times before inventing the light bulb. He answered, “I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2,000-step process.”
A 2,000-step process? I wonder if anyone ever counted how many steps a baby attempts before learning to maintain balance on two-feet. What if babies got frustrated after a couple-hundred attempts at walking and never got up again? As they say, “Can’t never could.” Falling is part of walking — certainly part of the learning process. If you are not willing to fall, you are not truly willing to walk. If you are not willing to fail, you don’t have what it takes to succeed.
There is a big difference between learning and failing; but the difference is invisible to the eye. The difference between learning and failing is inside each one of us. The difference lies within our perceptions and conditioning. How we perceive each experience determines how we create and handle our next experiences. If we perceive an initial attempt as a failure, rather than feedback — and one small step on the road to mastery — we may be swayed to stop. We would never stop if we only understand that we always either get exactly what we want, or exactly what we need — often valuable feedback that will ultimately lead us to success. Persistence pays.
The saying, “Practice makes perfect,” is another reminder that, in order to be good at something, you must practice something you aren’t good at. It naturally follows that, when you do something you aren’t good at, you will not experience immediate and continuous success. You will, however, receive lots of feedback. And, if you simply accept the feedback and apply what you learn by making adjustments in your approach, you will find the success you are looking for. Embrace the process; embrace the path to your goals or dreams. If you stumble on the path, do not curse the path; it is still the path that will carry you to your destination — if you get up, brush yourself off, and keep walking. Practice stumbling, and falling, until you feel quite comfortable with it. When you can respond to a failure in the same way you respond to a success, you have found a great success secret.
Failure lets you know that you are out of your comfort zone — a great place to be — or that you are not paying attention to what you’re doing — a great thing to know. In either case, failure is a valuable friend you should embrace. I do not mean that you should seek to fail, or strive to fail; but you should indeed try things that you are not already good at — and practice grace when you don’t immediately succeed. If you don’t, you’ll never learn anything new; and you’ll never grow as a person — you’ll only age and change shape. Hold on to your dreams, keep your eyes and heart wide open, and embrace all you encounter along your path — it is all scenery on your journey to fulfillment. I prefer the word, “Feedback;” but even if it looks like something you used to call, “Failure,” embrace it — it will lead you to great things.
Explore… Expand… Evolve…
February 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Jennifer has just renovated our www.ExploreExpandEvolve.com site! The site is currently being “repopulated,” so check back often for the latest articles, excerpts, inspiration, videos, and instructional posts…
The Explore Expand Evolve site is our outlet for life-changing and life-enhancing information, tools, techniques, and inspiration. There is a big world out there; and, if you have a problem you can’t solve, or a dream you can’t seem to realize, you just haven’t looked in the right place yet.
Explore your world — both your internal and external environments…
Expand your mind and awareness of what could be possible…
Evolve into a newer, healthier, happier version of you!
Your life — only easier!
Check out www.ExploreExpandEvolve.com and some of the useful resources and links there!
Your life is waiting for you!
"Praying" to Win…
February 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Prayer vs. prayers
Prayer is thought of as the active state of communication between a person and their God; while a prayer is what is said or thought by the person during that communication. It is important to realize that most prayers are simply poems, or verses, which are remembered and repeated without the original emotions of the author of the prayer. Though it is quite impressive to memorize long, flowery tributes; the repetition of that which you have memorized is a different kind of mental activity than that which is entered into by monks, and others, when they actively Pray, or meditate. The prayer effort, if from memory rather than the heart, may very well be “in vain,” as it is unlikely to produce the same effect as free-flowing, heart-felt sentiment and desire. All thoughts are indeed creative; some ways of thinking, however, are much more effective than other ways of thinking. Think whatever you wish; reap as you sow.
Creating Your Reality
People typically pray for a couple basic reasons: 1.) Because they Desire something; and, 2.) Because they think they are supposed to in a given situation. Whatever the case may be, it goes without saying that prayers are meant to be answered; and it is a more fulfilling experience when we get the victory or success we are hoping and praying for. Love is one of the “ingredients” in “a life you love;” so, in order to create a life you love, you’re going to need to put some love into the mix. We all create our own lives, in one way or another; people who create lives they love, however, do it using the power of the heart — the creative power of love that powers the fulfillment of our desires and brings the answers to our prayers. Think up a good, positive prayer, or story about the change you wish to experience in your reality; then, imagine that experience in such a way that you can feel the joy of it — and give thanks for the experience and the joy. That, in a nutshell, is the secret to creating your reality. The more ideas about time and limitations you have, the longer it may take for you to see your “dream come true;” but it is coming true.
Clear Eyes and an Open Heart
Imagine catching a ball someone has thrown to you — or at you. It is so much easier to catch a ball with your eyes open! In fact, there is a familiar saying that has spread far beyond the boundaries of any playing field — “Keep your eye on the ball.” This is a reminder that there are two components to catching the ball: Seeing it; and Catching it. The prayer process outlined above is how you “See” that which you wish to receive. Receiving your answer, however, requires you to actually do something — even if that only means opening your hands to receive. If you ask, you will receive; and if you cannot receive something in you Heart — that “feeling place” inside you — you cannot receive the full experience and joy of that thing in your outer world. To clearly see the answers to your prayers, you must see your prayers clearly; and to receive your answers fully, you must open your heart and arms fully. It’s your future; why not Create it the way you want it? It’s your Creation; why not reach out and enjoy it? Open your mind; open your Heart; and open your eyes. If you aren’t thinking about what you want to experience, who is doing it for you? Your future is waiting for you…..to create it.
“Declare a thing and it is so.” ~Jesus of Nazareth
“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice!” ~Geddy Lee of Rush
