My Story of Failure

This is the topic for the Peri10K group today on periscope. Peri10K is a group of leading edge thought leaders that do a shareathon every day and I am one of the speakers. Today’s topic is Tell your story of failure.

In preparing for my talk I started to write this

“The word failure means…. BUT instead…

I wrote the word VALUE means.

This was a good discovery on my part

because I had been having difficulty coming up with when I had failed in life.

The dictionary defines the word failure:
1. Lack of success
“An economic policy that is doomed to failure”
Lack of success, nonfullment, defeat, collapse, foundering MORE

2. The omission of expected or required action
“Their failure to comply with the basic rules”
Synonyms: negligence, dereliction: MORE

Note in the definition of the word failure there is the word MORE at the end and that is how I have usually felt when it came to claiming my failing events in my life.

When I looked at my personal story of failure I found it hard to pin point them because I think I always went to the part of the definition of failure as MORE

• When my parents told me that we could not afford new clothes…I learned how to sew
• When I was told that I should not go to college I said to my self  YES I can and found a way by going to a 2 year local college, working, and graduated with a Bachelor of ScienceDegree in Psychology and Art
• When my marriage didn’t work out and I found my self divorced…. I found out MORE about my self by learning new skills about the human condition.
• When my studio burned up and I found my hand painted apparel business gone in an instant I set my sites on new horizons.

So lets look at the word failure and it’s meaning again and at the human condition

Yes we will have collapse, defeat, Contrast in many ways, like divorce, business failure,
BUT there is always the word MORE in the definition

My advice to you is seek YOUR MORE.

Say to yourself this failure idea I have in my mind is not true…. I am on my way to MORE

I don’t know what it’s going to look like by I am indeed on my way to more.

Tips on how to be in the mode of discovering MORE
1. Be graceful with yourself. Create sans judgment. Honor just where you are.
2. Share your work. Trust me on this.
3. Allow this to be a process. In art as in life, instinct is often enough. Enjoy that.