What Stopped You?

There was a movie called Castaway where a man was stranded on a remote island.

He wanted to get home to his wife, but there was an obstacle:

A giant, powerful wave sent him crashing to the rocks below, injuring him badly.

This defeats him for quite a while. He really wants to get rescued so he can get home, but the wave stops him. For a very long time.

In the movie, he finally makes it over that menacing wave, has other trials and tribulations, and then he's finally rescued. He would never have been rescued if he didn't conquer that first big wave.

That wave reminded me of how we let one thing stop us from following a dream.

Just one thing! Whether it's fear of rejection, fear we're not good enough, fear of the unknown, whatever.

It turns out that people who accomplish their dreams figure out that they don't have to be attached to their so-called "failures." Failures to them are just stepping stones.

I heard of a guy who wanted to start a candle business. The first ones he made were terrible. The same with the next group, and the next.

He made 200 candles (which he gave away to friends) until he figured out the right temperature to pour them at. He tried 185 degrees, 175 degrees, 165 degrees... that was the one!

Then he had to figure out colors, scents, packaging, etc. He did all that, and now he has a small thriving business that he plans to expand into other housewares under the brand he created.

Thomas Edison made 1000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb until he had a proper light. I guess he had more perseverance than smarts, and that's what counts.

He wasn't attached to his "failures."

Keep failing. Don't let the first wave stop you, or the second, or the tenth...