Yaay! I FAILED

In the course of my little but full lifetime, I have failed at so many things. On a regular day, this shouldn't be something I should be able to whisper let alone talk about. (at least that is what society says) but since we're all about #NoOrdinaryConversations, what the heck. I'll blab away... 😊 

They say you're only able to connect the dots in retrospect, and looking back at the few, but many years I've spent on planet earth, my dots are quite many. You see, right from when I could remember, I had always wanted to try my hands at a gazillion things. If I wasn't drawing a dress, I was writing some story or article (like what you're currently reading), publishing a magazine or like my recent stunt, attending  culinary school. 

My first 'failure'  occurred while I was yet in the university. I had successfully published my first 'dream' magazine, but was unable to continue because I was unable to sell the entirety of the first issue. My previously supportive parents, clipped their purses tightly, having parted with the money for the first and just like that the dream died and like I mentioned, it was said that 'I failed' 

Next was the cake from hell I made for a client after attending a cake making school somewhere in Lagos. I had used butter Icing and popped the cake in the boot (🤣🤣😂) silly me right? Well you can  imagine how the cake ended up looking when I  opened the boot. (that was the last time I baked. At least for a while) and for many, I had failed yet again. 

Then there was my 1 year trip to South Africa. Having watched Chopped, Master Chef & Cake Boss,  combined with being a foodie, I thought maybe I could be a chef. So a few months later, I found myself in Culinary school  somewhere in Port Elizabeth doing what I wanted. (@ least so I thought). Once that was over, I returned home and decided that career path  wasn't for me.  So again I was labeled a failure. 

In truth, for a short while there, i actually believed what everyone was saying. I was a failure. How else could I explain trying my hands on 'this, that & those' without honing down on any of it? I I became scared to try anything new. That right there is a dangerous place to be; because he who never tries never wins or accomplishes anything.

I felt that way until I came to a realization, that just because ' this, that & those' didn't work out, doesn't mean I failed, it meant I had discovered things that were not meant for me.
Light broke through me from the inside out when I realized that failing is not falling, failing is staying down. 

Even better was the knowledge that I wasn't failing, but I was experiencing a set back which provided an opportunity to start again with more information.

So I picked up myself, decided to retool and look straight ahead at the future. I stopped expending energy on thinking about the things that didn't or almost did work out. I did not allow what didn't work out for me destroy me intellectually and emotionally. 

I sought to identify the lessons from my failures and it was in it I found where I belonged. It had be there all along in every step I had taken. My love for writing, and story telling.

✔ It first came through in the many stories I would write for my friends in secondary school. 

 ✔ Next it appeared in the love letters I found myself crafting when the teenage love bug bit me. (you know you caught it too. 😉) 

✔ It surfaced when I attempted to start  a food blog while in Culinary school. 

✔ Stayed with me in the workplace when I became the preferred employee by my superiors and colleagues to draft mail, reports, minutes of meetings and respond to queries.

 It had always been there, i just didn't see it.

So yes, I had not failed, I had only learnt about the versatility of my talent. All those years and various endeavors had helped to sharpen this  gift of mine. 

And the moment I decided to embrace it, like I am now, the validation came. 

It's true that I could have saved myself the trouble if I had just embraced it earlier, however I probably would not have met the many amazing people in my life now. At the very least, I have acquired the skills to host an amazing dinner and wow my guest with my cooking skills come Christmas. 😝 (look forward to getting an invite) . My so called failures have made me a more valuable asset with a wide range of experiences. 

In essence,
👏🏾 Celebrate your failure because now you know what would work and what wouldn't work

👏🏾Celebrate your failures because even the world greatest barely succeed in their 1st attempt. 

➡️Henry Ford failed two times before that abruptly resulted in bankruptcies, prior to successfully launching the present incarnation of his company

➡️Sandy founder of KFC  went round in circles in life until the age of 62 that he set out with a $105 social security check in hand to pitch his chicken recipe to restaurants. 1,009 folks told him he was crazy, but he didn’t give up

So fail steady dear friend, because nobody learns to walk without falling. 

What good thing has come out of any 'failure'

you have experience.? 

xoxo

#NoOrdinary Eyitemi