No Failure

I often find quotes on the internet and after a while I’m not really sure if the stated quote really belongs to the person that it is attributed to.  I find myself second guessing whether or not I should repeat the quote for fear of misquoting and looking ridiculous.  But you know what, I’m sure people have better things to do than spend time verifying who I’m quoting.  At least I hope they do.

Here’s a quote that I’ve been feeling recently:

I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work – Thomas Edison

2015 is coming to an end.  A new year is upon us and I am nowhere near the destination that I had planned for myself at this time last year.  The theme of this blog has always been “discoveries”.  It’s a reminder to myself that I am never too old to make a new discovery.  What I have discovered recently is that there really is no such thing as overnight success.  Depending on how you define success that is.  I define success as freedom.  Freedom to choose, freedom to live, freedom to speak.  From that standpoint, I am quite successful.  But, let’s face it – I still have a mortgage to pay.  And while money doesn’t necessarily mean success, it does make life a lot less complicated.

I feel like I’m rambling.

At the beginning of 2015 I quit my “good” full time job as a contract administrator in order to pursue a dream of entrepreneurship.  Admittedly I had more enthusiasm than experience and now 11 months later I’m realizing that a little less enthusiasm and a little more experience would have been nice.

I have no regrets and I’m not quitting.  I am however, looking for a job.  Not in contract administration but in my chosen field in health and fitness.  I’ve applied at several gyms/health clubs and right now I’m waiting on responses.  I am passionate about helping people live healthier lives and I believe I can make a living at it, just not the way I had imagined.  At least not yet.

I’m not giving up.  My dream will be fulfilled.  A dream deferred is not a dream denied.  It’s just going to take more time than I had anticipated.  Which is fine.  I tell my clients all the time that nothing happens overnight.  Only what we do consistently, day in and day out will yield the results that we want.   If I’m honest, my daily activities do not map to the kind of success that I was hoping for.  When I train for figure competitions it’s the same thing:  daily training, daily dieting – no deviations, just constant work.  That behavior won me an overall championship and professional status as a figure competitor.  The same thing applies in business as I’m quickly finding out.

I really wish I would have had this revelation back in January.  It is what it is, I suppose.  Everything happens for reason and God’s timing is perfect.  This journey doesn’t necessarily look like what I thought it would but I trust that what God has planned is much better than my plan. So I win.