This past weekend I got up in front of an auditorium of people and talked about failure. I talked about a time in my life when I thought everything was perfect and everything was falling into place.
Then everything came crashing down – it was a shit show. I was in a really bad place and it honestly felt like life as I knew it was over.
That is the funny thing about failure, at the time you can’t see beyond it but once you are past it you can see the valuable lessons it taught you.
- You are so much stronger than you think you are. Allow yourself the time to feel like shit, but just remember you will always come out on the other side of it.
- It really does happen for a reason. I don’t mean in the cliche sense, but in the ‘you will be such a badass’ when it is behind you. The growth you will experience and the confidence you will gain will prove to be invaluable in future shitty situations.
- You are not alone. Look around. Every single person you see has failed. Failure is not reserved for just you, all of us go through it.
- Talk about it. This was not an easy one for me. Failure is embarrassing and emotional and just icky. But…others can learn from your failure.
I still look back at that time in my life and I still can’t believe where I am today in comparison. I never thought I would survive it.
Sometimes the worst brings out the best.
