“Life can have significance even if it appears to be a series of failures.”
—Joseph Cornell

e are so afraid of what the voices will say to us: The beating we will get if we think the wrong thing, say the wrong thing, or do the wrong thing. As a result, we get stopped in our tracks. We agonize over worst case scenarios. We get self-conscious. Deflated. Defeated. Often times before we even begin.

But “failure” is a mythological idea created by the voices in our heads to rob us of our energy. The idea creates a fictional beginning and end that exists nowhere in nature or the universe. In fact, both nature and the universe are constantly in flux.

Anyone who has spent any time mastering a new skill or discipline knows that when you begin it’s going to be ugly. The notes you play will be lousy and people will plug their ears. Your verb conjugation will be all a mess and the locals will smile and appreciate your tenacity. Your muscles will be sore and you’ll barely be able to move the next day.

As you go further, you will meet a new gatekeeper. A more powerful, more subtle gatekeeper you must overcome. That’s what makes mastery frustrating. And fun!

It’s where the term “blood, sweat and tears” came from.

So yes, anything you do in this lifetime will be met with a huge series of “failures,” which I would call “learning opportunities.” Ways to see how NOT to create a light bulb, as Edison had said. In this way, the only real failure is “quitting.” In quitting, nothing of significance will ever be created.

So no offense to Joseph Cornell, but I would say the opposite is true: Without a series of failures, nothing in Life can have significance.