Tag: success

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motivation

Failure is Success if…

Failure is success if we learn from it

Malcom Forbes in Brainyquote.com

That is the whole key to success. Success isn’t about doing everything right the first time. If it is that easy for you, then you probably aren’t living up to your potential. After all, how do you know what your limits are if you’ve succeeded at everything you’ve set out to do?

The challenge is to learn from it. We humans can get stuck at doing the same foolish thing over and over again. Addictive behaviors, negative thinking patterns and unhealthy habits can make us believe we can never escape from failure.

It reminds me of the verse found in Proverbs 26:11. As a dog returns to his vomit… what a repulsive image! Yet when we don’t learn from our failures and repeat unhealthy behaviors, whe are like the dog and the fool who returns to his folly.

Let’s learn from our failures. They don’t have to hold us down. We can use them as a springboard to success.

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motivation

Failure is an Option if You Want Success

cartoon of a girl and a monster. The monster is eating someone. A girl says, "You see Roger? This is why I don't like facing my fears."

The fear of failure grips us all. Who wants to look foolish? All of us would like to nail a challenge the first time. We all would like to appear perfect, flawless and successful.

The problem is that none of us know what will be successful from one moment to the next. What worked last year doesn’t this year. What doesn’t work now may be a viral success in the future.

We can create, but we can’t guarantee our creations will be a success. Hollywood is a great example. How many movies miss the mark? Yet nobody working on a movie wants it to be a bomb. How many movies were failures when they first came out, only to become cult classics?

Failure is an option if you want to create anything, try anything new or make a difference. Success doesn’t come from doing everything successfully. Success comes from showing up and doing the work consistently.

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motivation

Difficulties are the Way

Cartoon of a man and woman. A man reads a letter that had been thrown through a window. The woman says, "At least they returned your novel with a personal rejection letter."

I appreciated Dan Miller’s podcast the other day. The title had my attention right away. Yes, there are desirable difficulties! Here’s a link to the podcast:

https://www.48days.com/setbacks-and-difficulties/
Dan Miller’s 48 Day Podcast from December 27, 2019

As someone who has submitted cartoons and articles to magazines, sites, and books, I have experienced rejection. It is just part of the process. Not everything you create is going to be accepted by someone.

Cartoon of a man and woman. A man reads a letter that had been thrown through a window. The woman says, "At least they returned your novel with a personal rejection letter."

Yet none of the rejected cartoons or articles were a waste. I learned from each one. I have had some concepts rejected that I was sure were going to be sold. And I have had a cartoon or article accepted that I was sure was a silly idea. Each one helped me learn and polish my craft. Each concept and idea was valuable.

If you are going to do anything of value, you will experience difficulty. The road will be bumpy. You will start to question your talent and the process. But it’s the difficulties, the rejection, failures, and challenges you face that brings success. Keep plugging away and know you are not alone in facing difficulties.

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motivation

The Average Success

Boy stands on top of a box that says, "average." A girl says, "Are you going to keep standing here until everyone says you're above average?"
© 2019 Kevin Spear

Is success only reserved for the rich and geniuses? If success has alluded you, is there any hope? 

The average man who wins what we call success is not a genius. He is a man who has merely the ordinary qualities… who has developed those ordinary qualities to a more than ordinary degree.

Theodore Roosevelt

It is true some people are naturally gifted and can do things the rest of us only dream of. But there are naturally gifted people that will remain in obscurity. All of us have heard the story of a gifted athlete that couldn’t control himself and lost the contract. Each hometown has the story of their talented hero that could never get their act together.

Don’t worry about some who have talents you can only dream of. Develop what you have and use it to your fullest.

  • Be a lifelong learner
  • Learn something new every day
  • Develop goals and work towards them
    • This allows you to define what success looks like to you
  • Do something uncomfortable that makes you grow

Keep plugging away. If success has alluded you until now, you have today to develop your ordinary qualities.

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Adobe Illustrator Business Cartoons cartoon Motivation Cartoons

Small Victories

Cartoon of two business people. The business man says, “I like to celebrate the small victories. Today, I didn’t spill breakfast on me.”