When I talk about being a failure, I use the term as one of endearment. All being a failure means to me is that I'm willing to fail. I'm willing to try something new and see if it works. If it doesn't, that doesn't mean that I stop. I'm thankful for what I've learned, and I move on.
The same is true for a sailor. Even the most skilled sailor doesn't always find his intended destination in his intended manner. But does that mean he stops being a sailor? No! He only ceases being a sailor when chooses to no longer make the journey.
I went into my daughter's school to teach a kindergarten craft class. We were going to make some kind of large insect made from yarn. Basically a yarn ball with stuck-on googly eyes. We're not talkin' Jeff Koons here. When I pulled the finished project out of my bag to show the children what we would be making, one of the little boys was instantly aghast, "Oh, I can't do that! That's too much! I won't be able to do it!"
I was shocked for 2 reasons. 1- LITERALLY just a ball of yarn with eyes, and 2- I don't know that I've ever experienced that feeling before. Whether that is a testament to the good parenting I experienced, or if I'm simply missing some type of "reason-gene", I don't know. But when I've been presented with a challenge in my life, I've always taken the approach that I can teach myself, practice, apprentice or just plain fake it, till I make it.
I don't always succeed. There are goals that I've been sailing toward for years that I haven't quite grasped yet. I just keep throwing the things I learn below decks and turning the wheel into the wind.
