To Failure and Beyond!

I don’t fail enough. That might sound a tad arrogant, but it isn’t. Or at least that’s not what I mean. What I actually mean is that I don’t push myself enough. I’ve realised that I’ve got too comfortable in my daily routine and work.

Sure, I get a lot done but what I get done is easily manageable. I’ve got my systems and my way of working, and it all works fine. But, as I said in a recent post, I have a nagging suspicion that I’m “leaving performance on the table”.

If I don’t “push the envelope” and see “what this baby can do”, I’m not going to complete some of the large projects I really, really want to design. As Kenny Loggins says,

“Out along the edges/Always where I burn to be/The further on the edge/The hotter the intensity”

You might think that all these posts about productivity, focus and—now—failure are leading up to something, and you would be right.

I’ve decided to tackle something big—something that will push me (into the Danger Zone). Something that I might not complete. Something at which I might fail. Something a tad daunting. I’m hoping that going to the edge of—or perhaps even slightly beyond—what is possible will give me the push to get better at what I do. And if it doesn’t, and I fail, that’s cool. Failure and success are a continuum. Total failure (or success) is impossible—I’m going to learn something and create something no matter what happens.

I’ll be revealing more about this project in the weeks ahead. If you are interested in a Grand Design Adventure, stay tuned!

Creighton Broadhurst is the Publisher of Useful Items at Raging Swan Press. He lives on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity. He is not planning to voyage far.