Failing

This story/blog sort of sums up the last 5 years of my life. I titled it failing because I felt that this best suits my mindset over this time period. You will soon read that failing doesn't have to be a negative word but can be embraced. I once read in a book (yes a book) about a guy that had an idea and thought his idea was better then anyone else's. This guy went from house to house, company to company, person to person selling his idea. He was turned down his first time, second, third, forth, and eventually 20+ times before someone finally said lets here it. You may have heard of this guy Dr. Seuss? It took Dr. Seuss failing over 20 times before he finally got someone to notice. In baseball if a batter fails 7/10 times that's considered pretty good. Failing is not always bad.

While a freshman in college I had a advisor (yes advisor), tell me the that my idea to work in sports was ludicrous, dumb, and a waste of time. I was told to look at more practical areas of study. She said that only athletes get these types of jobs. She was looking for me to fail. That being said I used that sole motivation to prove her wrong. Transferring schools and setting out to work within sports I knew what I had to do. While attending school I was able to achieve many notable awards, major of the year, scholarships, and many internships. The one that stood out the most was with the Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota Florida. Couldn't work within sports huh? I basically gave my old advisor the proverbial finger and managed to mingel with some big name people. I fought the temptation to send her an e-mail everyday I was down there. I had proved her wrong and had not failed.

Fastforward to today, and here I sit. A year removed from my experience within the Reds orgainization. Jobless and basically moneyless. To most accounts I have a very impressive resume and am considered (depending on who you ask) to be someone intelligent. You may be saying well you are failing right now man. But I would beg to differ. I am currently Dr. Seuss and knocking on my 20+ doors right now and while I go through this journey I think it's funny that since I have basically already knocked down the door that my advisor setup the day she said you can't, I do not feel like my orginal goal is good enough. I have already proven her wrong and was just waiting for someone to say you can't.

This has been at the root of everything I have done for the past 5 years. People saying you are going to fail only fuels the fire. I see it all around me in the everyday things. When someone starts a workout plan, you get the "oh your not gonna last a week" or "you can't do that". When someone wants to better their lifes I hear "thats stupid why even try". So many are afraid of failing that they don't want to see others succeed around them. I use to think that my worst fear was failing in life. I wouldn't try new things and was somewhat reserved. If you knew me today you would know that I LOVE TO FAIL!!! It allows you to grow and learn and provides a challenge that can spark your own internal drive. I have that internal drive that is so powerfull I will always know that if I do fail its only for the moment and I take that and run with it until the failing becomes success. And today I am a success because I have failed so many times.