Don't Quit

I grabbed one of my favorite cups for coffee on the deck this morning. If you look at it closely, you’ll see it says, “RISE AND SHINE WITH…The Dallas Morning News.”

It was my “prize,” back in the 90s, after winning the “Golden-Pen Award” for a letter I wrote to the editor. You would have thought I had won the lottery when it arrived unexpectedly in the mail that day. I was so proud of it. And truthfully, it was a lot more than just a coffee cup to me. It was a goal I had set for myself.

You see, I had been writing music for two-plus decades, but this was a new kind of writing, and I wasn’t sure I had what it took. I was an avid newspaper reader and had often dreamed of seeing my words beside some of my favorite syndicated columnists. Winning this simple coffee cup gave me the confidence I needed to go big or go home, and shortly afterwards, I ventured into the op-ed area of the newspaper, and saw my op-ed columns, right beside my favorite syndicated columnists, for the next 14 years on a regular basis.

I didn’t share that to brag on me. I shared it because I thought it might help someone who is struggling with the “can I or can’t I?” syndrome. Failure and rejection go hand-in-hand with people who take risks and try new things. Sometimes you try things, and you flop. Other times, you try things, and you fly.

New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned leadership expert, John C. Maxwell, says, “The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure."

If you’ve tried and failed, don’t let failure define you; it doesn’t have to be fatal. Get back up, get back out, and try again. The only real failures in life are those who call it quits.