So what is so great about being in your twenties?
Of being in the land of I’m-no-longer-a-teenager and I-don’t-quite-feel-like-an-adult?
Is it being able to drink legally? Nah. You’ve been doing it anyway for years. Don’t worry; I won’t tell your parents. (They already knew.)
Is it the awesome view from your cubicle? The one where if you lean back and to the left just far enough you can see out the window and peer at the top of an oak tree? Heck no.
It’s that you’re licensed…
Licensed to Fail.
Now hear me out.
I’m going to let you in on a probably-not-all-that-secret secret.
You ARE going to fail.
The only question is whether it will be in a blaze of glory or simply a flickering out of a long-forgotten candle on the dining room table.
Will it be a fizzle or a BANG?
Why am I so confident in your failure? It seems kinda rude…
It’s because I have become confident in my own.
Some of my failures have been like bottle rockets… others more like smoke bombs. But not like rolling down the street creating a colorful trail of smoke, smoke bombs.
They’ve been more like smoke bombs that were lit in a small room without any windows, where the smoke slowly rises up until I’m choking. Until I’m a defeated huddled mass, crawling to the exit.
You see, your twenties are a great time to fail. It’s a time for experimentation- of having some things work out how you anticipated and others blowing up in your face.
The key is that when you fail (because you will) to not fall into the trap of calling yourself a failure.
To remember that a fine blade is forged in fire, hammered and shaped, then sharpened and refined.
You are being forged into something greater, but you’re going to get burned and beaten first.
I believe that every person has the potential for greatness.
In order to accomplish this greatness, you are going to have to be willing to take risks. Great feats and great risks go hand-in-hand.
If you always take the safe bet, you will achieve nothing more than mediocrity.
Some are fine with that- complacent in their comfort.
Some people are okay with the cushy job they never wanted, slowly building their 401(k) until their brains turn to mush.
But not you… No. You are meant for greatness.
You’re just not sure what the Hell that greatness is yet.
And the only way to figure it out is to get a little messy first.
So try new things, take risks, and be willing to fail.
Failure is one of the greatest teachers we never asked for. Just Google ‘quotes about failure.’ Many of the greatest achievers had an intimate relationship with failure.
Failure teaches perseverance. It teaches us to dust ourselves off and try again.
Failure teaches us how not to do something.
Failure can teach you what you don’t want and slowly guide you on the path to what you do.
So take advantage of this opportunity to fail… before you have a marriage, three kids, and a mortgage on the line.
