Fire Through Spirit - Infolightenment Archives


	REROUTING OPPORTUNITIES I’m very different from everyone else in my family. For them, failure is shameful, not to be discussed, and you either succeed at something or don’t bother doing it at all. That’s why they tend to think of me as a failure, even though I’m not. For me, there isn’t the idea of failure. It’s a rerouted opportunity. If this didn’t work, how about this? Or this? Or this? And if something has failed, then what can I take from it to use where I know there is a success waiting to happen around the corner? Example: the cruise I’ve been working on all year. Time, money, dreams and encouragement for everyone else involved – I gave it all I had. Yet the US economy has trounced virtually all of my clients. Everyone is cutting back on driving, on food costs, on every discretionary expense they have – and as a result, those who might have gone without a moment’s hesitation in years past have looked at it wistfully, said it sounded like a great time, but they just couldn’t swing it right now. So, sadly, I pulled the plug on it in June. And another psychic decided that she and her boyfriend would take it over, change the focus, and see if it sailed. I found out about it “through the grapevine” rather than be told about it straight out. I refuse to see it as a failure. It’s a rerouted opportunity – for me, and for the psychic and her boyfriend. What did it teach me? That I do solo gigs well and enjoy them more. What’s around the corner for me? A solo gig ghostwriting a major book, which appeared only AFTER I let the cruise go. Why? The Universe knew I would not have time to do the book if I was still running the cruise. Therefore, that’s where my attention needs to go: the new gig, the new opportunity. What the psychic and her boyfriend choose to do is for them to decide. It's not mine to judge. Next? It’s not the first thing I’ve “failed” at, according to the standard worldview. Back when I was an Elfquest author, there was talk of my going to Austria to do some fan engagements. Couldn’t get it paid for, and at that point I wasn’t flush enough myself. There have been novels I’ve started – especially one very detailed World War One piece – which lie, half-finished, in the file cabinets in the basement. I’ve tried pulling together a romantic weekend for GLBT couples, but did not get the support from the locals that was required. But for every failure, there have been wonderful and wild successes: No matter how perilous the times, how difficult the job market, I have always found work, and been good at what I chose to do. If the career focus had to change at various times, I didn’t think of it as failure, but more “All right – next?” And every career gave me gifts and talents that I am using right now as an intuitive counselor: gifts that I might not have if I had not had my turns as an executive recruiter…an editor…an author…an actress…a radio host…a television producer…an executive assistant for more than one powerful CEO…and more. My current marriage has benefited from the previous two which did not last. The strength of our partnership would not exist if there had not been lessons and failures on which to build a more solid foundation for us. I took a solo career in an atypical field from zero to full time, respected and prosperous in five years. I’ve gone three times around the dance floor with cancer and gotten off in one piece each time. Scarred, yes – but only on the outside. I’ve pulled together countless teams for cancer walks, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, food pantries, Habitat houses. Most importantly, through my failures, rebounds and resilience, I’ve inspired others to believe that they, too, can reroute their opportunities. Thomas Edison – he of the more than one thousand successful patents – is famous for saying, “I didn’t fail ten thousand times. I successfully eliminated, ten thousand times, materials and combinations which wouldn’t work.” That’s how I see things. It’s how I’ve not only survived, but thrived, in circumstances that would drive others to despair. Because there is no such thing as failure. It’s another chance to explore the world. And as long as you are born, live, learn, love and pass on what you’ve learned to just one other person -- believe me: you have succeeded.