Bits of Wisdom Podcast #70
“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” Herman Melville
There is a kind of passive failure no one really talks about. We hide it in a back room, where it collects dust, away from the world, so we can ignore it. This failure exists in many of us; it’s there because of fear.
This passive failure I’m referring to comes from never trying. We have dreams, goals, and aspirations of writing that song, learning to dance, or going on a spiritual quest. We know these things are in us because they tap us on the shoulder now and then, but we ignore them.
These back-room treasures are the very things our souls long for. So why do we ignore them? Because we fear failure, some illusory public humiliation. We fear our highest aspirations, and we fear our greatest selves.
Because of these fears, we make decisions to stay safe. We convince ourselves that being ‘normal’ is better, and as long as we stay hidden in the crowd, we won’t be noticed. We won’t be subject to finger-pointing, rejection, or being labelled the black sheep of the family.
We hand ourselves over to father society and ask him to help us look like everyone else. This idea of fitting in is conditioning. Groupthink. Herd mentality. And so long as you can keep your dreams at bay, there’s nothing wrong with it.
But, if you’re a dreamer, like Amelia Earhart, Brad Pitt, Helen Keller, or Terry ‘Hulk’ Hogan, and like me, when you stuff those dreams in the back room, it does something to your soul.
If you identify with this writing, and you're telling yourself, this Terry guy is writing to me, congratulations. There’s still time to pull that dream out of the closet, dust it off, and run with it. When you do this, you’ll find a fresh wind, one breathed into your sails fresh, anew each day.
Yes, you will fail along the way, but once you begin pursuing your dream, your life will change. Day after day, you’ll see the desires of your heart materialize, and this becomes enough to keep you going. The pursuit of a dream is chock full of small failures and successes, but as long as you can keep your win column just higher than the losses, you’ll wake up one day to see you’ve brought something incredible to life.
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Dr. Seuss
This is how to do something original. This is how you pursue your heart’s desire. It starts with one decision today. No need to worry about tomorrow. When you get there, simply repeat your decision, and remember, it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.
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