The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure

Original Air Date: June 14, 2021

Failure.

A complete sentence. 

Is it a teacher 

Or a jailer? 

Is it a beginning 

Or does it end there? 

Where do you place your next step 

When the ground beneath you begins to erupt? 

Maybe if there was something to grasp, 

If it wasn’t so abrupt.

Perhaps if no one was watching, 

Not even me seeing me.

 Then this…

Failure

Would be easier to swallow. 

If self-criticism were a competition, 

I’d be a tough act to follow. 

Perfection.

Maybe it can serve as my protection. 

From any and all

Ridicule  

And rejection

And failure. 

There is fog on the glass of my reflection. 

I find the courage to wipe it, 

I shine back clearer. 

I need to reexamine my definition. 

A life without failure 

Actually sounds 

Kind of boring. 

Where would be the discovery? 

The intrigue? 

The lessons learned from walking through the fire 

And getting just a bit burnt. 

Realizing the nightmare scenes 

Are actually just branches of trees 

Scratching at my window.

Scary shadows revealed to be nothing. 

But it’s the confronting. 

The facing. 

The tasting the fear on your tongue 

And rather than deciding to run...

Moving forward. 

Moving toward that which I find to be frightening. 

Failure. 

It can be a beautiful teacher. 

Not gentle. 

But honest.  

Failure. 

Unexpected gifts found within if I’m willing to persist. 

To insist:

I know. I know. 

There is danger waiting. 

But I’d rather lose it all

Than die knowing 

I never even tried. 

I had all of these ideas

And just kept them shut inside. 

We get to decide when failure is an ending. 

A complete sentence. 

A teacher or 

A jailer. 

And when failure 

Is actually the greatest of all treasures. 

P.S. I hope you enjoy this week’s episode: ‘The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure.’

tomearl.me/giftsof

Listen to "The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure" on Spreaker.

The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure

Failure.

A complete sentence. 

Is it a teacher 

Or a jailer? 

Is it a beginning 

Or does it end there? 

Where do you place your next step 

When the ground beneath you begins to erupt? 

Maybe if there was something to grasp, 

If it wasn’t so abrupt.

Perhaps if no one was watching, 

Not even me seeing me.

 Then this…

Failure

Would be easier to swallow. 

If self-criticism were a competition, 

I’d be a tough act to follow. 

Perfection.

Maybe it can serve as my protection. 

From any and all

Ridicule  

And rejection

And failure. 

There is fog on the glass of my reflection. 

I find the courage to wipe it, 

I shine back clearer. 

I need to reexamine my definition. 

A life without failure 

Actually sounds 

Kind of boring. 

Where would be the discovery? 

The intrigue? 

The lessons learned from walking through the fire 

And getting just a bit burnt. 

Realizing the nightmare scenes 

Are actually just branches of trees 

Scratching at my window.

Scary shadows revealed to be nothing. 

But it’s the confronting. 

The facing. 

The tasting the fear on your tongue 

And rather than deciding to run...

Moving forward. 

Moving toward that which I find to be frightening. 

Failure. 

It can be a beautiful teacher. 

Not gentle. 

But honest.  

Failure. 

Unexpected gifts found within if I’m willing to persist. 

To insist:

I know. I know. 

There is danger waiting. 

But I’d rather lose it all

Than die knowing 

I never even tried. 

I had all of these ideas

And just kept them shut inside. 

We get to decide when failure is an ending. 

A complete sentence. 

A teacher or 

A jailer. 

And when failure 

Is actually the greatest of all treasures. 

P.S. I hope you enjoy this week’s episode: ‘The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure.’

Listen to "The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Courageous Self Love Revisited

Have you ever headed out the door only to realize you can’t find your keys?

Now, be honest. Did you ever search high and low for your keys, glasses, phone, etc. – only to discover they were in your pocket, purse, or backpack? 

That you were looking everywhere for something that you actually had all along? 

Just the other day I was looking for my glasses only to realize, “oh wait – I’m wearing them.”

You may have heard myself or my guests say that the answers you seek are already within you.

The power within us goes unnoticed and therefore, underutilized until we recognize it is within us. 

Let’s take self-love for example. 

You – I – we – are already worthy of love.  

We are already whole, complete, and powerful. We are miracles. 

And yet, how often do we find ourselves “hustling for our worthiness,” as Brene Brown puts it. 

How often do we find ourselves in that place of guilt, shame, anxiety, or feeling that sense of loss - all stemming from our belief that we must do more in order to be worthy. 

The indisputable fact that we are already worthy is lost on us – which is why we need to recognize its intrinsic nature. 

That’s why this week’s episode is dedicated to providing practical steps towards embracing self-love.  

This episode originally aired at the end of 2017, and revisiting it is a perfect way to end 2020. 

If you listened to it when it first aired, I invite you to walk this path once again. 

If it is your first time, get ready for the ride.

Gift yourself this time of reflection. 

Here we go. 

Listen to "Courageous Self Love Revisited" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.