It’s in the risk. That’s where you grow.
There’s no doubt that it feels fantastic when you finally achieve something.
But that’s not where the soul’s gold is.
It’s in who you become during that process that matters more than anything.
Embrace that. Know it deeply.
If everything works out, then great! If you try and fail, that’s ok too.
It’s part of the process.
Keep going because you’re growing.
Failure is just feedback. That’s all.
Don’t take it so hard; it’s showing you that you need to go in a different direction.
But the journey, that’s where the magic is.
Whenever I’m going through the thick of it and really losing my motivation to carry forward, I always think of Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech The Man In The Arena. He said…
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
You have to get out on the field of life.
You’re going to fail. That’s inevitable. Don’t be afraid of it. Welcome it.
Because at least you’re playing. At least you’re showing up willing to do what it takes to make your dreams, goals, and ambitions come to light.
One day, you will win. If you keep changing your strategy and come back to the table again and again, you will find a way.
But, if you refuse to play the game at all, you will lose and lose big.
The cost of not playing is living with a lifetime full of regret.
And that is far worse than failing.
So get out there and be willing to learn.
You will find your way.
Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project