How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
Failure has made me realize where I need to be and not where I thought I should be. It has also given me the experiences needed to be where I am now. I use said failure to enrich my writing, interspersing these experiences throughout my stories and, of course, fictionalizing them. So, thanks to failure, I have succeeded.
What is standing in your way of accomplishing your goals?
Keep in mind, you will not succeed if you do not try. Give what you are doing a chance. I know it’s easy to give up and think success won’t happen. But the truth is this; sometimes success takes a while. If one idea is not working, try something else. Eventually, success will pick up speed.
I am going to pick on writers/authors. They spend many many hours writing their books. At the end of it all, when they publish it, there is marketing to do. If you are a self-published author, you do much of the marketing yourself. My advice, if this is you, learn about how to market your book(s). Maybe you already know. Great! If you have a publisher, they do the marketing for you. If this you, great! Everyone else mostly does it themselves. It can be discouraging at first because not every marketing strategy will work. Here again, you will not succeed if you do not try. You will not figure out what does if you do not try.
What are you afraid of? Heights? Small places? Hospitals? Success? Failure? Sometimes, what we are afraid of can hold us back. When that happens, nothing happens. Let’s pick on fear of success. I know. It doesn’t seem like a plausible fear, but it is. Although, I’m willing to bet the person who has this fear is most likely not aware of it. I’m not a psychiatrist/psychologist. I fear many things. At least growing up I did. As an adult I still do. It’s something I struggle with sometimes. I end up having to talk myself into trying new things.
Fear of failure is one of those fears. I have to remind myself that I won’t succeed if I don’t try. Or, I tell myself, ‘But what if I succeed instead of fail. Again, I won’t know unless I try’. Getting over one’s fears isn’t easy. But, it can be done. Trying is the key. At least that’s been my experience anyway.
YOU CAN DO IT
Fear is the Killer. How many times have you told yourself you wanted to do something but never followed through with those ideas? Why did’t you follow through? Was it lack of funds, lack of support from family or friends, was it fear? I understand the lack of funds thing. If you don’t have the money, don’t break the bank because you’ll only get yourself into trouble. However, lack of support or fear are just space takers. They take up space. TOO much. I get it though. The thing is those two factors keep us back. What if you were meant to do something but were too afraid to do it? The excitement is there, the motivation is there. But then the fear creeps in and steals your thunder. DON’T LET IT. Oh, and don’t get me started on lack of support from those around you. They can’t have it themselves, so they have to negate your plans because they don’t want you too be any more successful then themselves. AHA! The old misery loves company routine. Push it away, far far away.
Be Bold. Going against the grain and outside of your comfort zone is hard to do. We think too much and when we do that we end up stopping ourselves. Don’t stop yourself. Be bold. Be very bold, and just do it. Step out and do what you need to do to. I used to teach, and I remember back when I first made that decision, I was scared. I didn’t like getting up in front of people. At all. But I wanted to be a teacher, so I did it anyway. Yes, it was scary, but the more I did it the less scared I was and the more confident I became. There were individuals who didn’t think I could do it. I did it. It’s like walking into a storm. Face it head on, look straight at it, prepare yourself, and move forward keeping the end in sight.
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 