Success is a Bunch of Failures

Is it wise christen a blog re-launch with failure?  Jinx, anyone? But failing is part of living and learning (well, the letters a, i, l, r, and e are parts). My simple saying reminds me that every time I fail, I get closer to success–getting published. I mean, what could beat my 100 Rejections Challenge? If I make it to one hundred rejections, then I won the challenge! And if I publish something before I reach one hundred rejections, then I still won!

Success is a bunch of failures can refer to any endeavor, certainly not just writing.  Dicky Fox, towards the end of the sports agent movie Jerry Maguire, says, “In life, to be honest, I failed as much as I have succeeded…”

Ha ha, or more.

How about the hilarious monologue from the swamp king in Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail: 

“Listen, lad. I built this kingdom up from nothing. When I started here, all there was was swamp. Other kings said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show ’em. It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So, I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp, but the fourth one… stayed up! And that’s what you’re gonna get, lad: the strongest castle in these islands.“(http://www.montypython.50webs.com/scripts/Holy_Grail/Scene13.htm)

Hmm, that might be stupidity disguised as persistence expressed through failure. But still funny.

Another shot of failure I encountered in the July/August edition of Writer’s Digest in the article “Find Your Creative Flow”:

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” –Samuel Becket.

I started reading the article but failed to finish it, because it was boring. A positive example of failure saving me time.

So, whenever failure gets you down, just remember…

“Success is a bunch of failures.” –me, 2022 (and probably millions of other people!)