Ernest Hemingway was once quoted as saying, “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” Everyone has a story. Everybody has gone through hard things in their life. No matter how well you try to live it, no matter how much you try to insulate or isolate yourself, bad things are going to happen. They just are. Life is not perfect. But it’s what you do when hardships or tragedies hit that makes all the difference. Don’t be fake about it and pretend it doesn’t hurt. Bad things don't feel good; they hurt. It’s how you respond, that makes the difference. I will never forget when I fell off my bike and broke my arm. I was so scared. First, it hurt like hell. Second, hell has no fury like a father who has to get out of work early to go to the emergency room. It wasn’t one of my father’s better traits. It was tough to risk mistakes or accidents the way my father would react when I was young (I wonder if anyone ever told him that’s why they call them accidents). Hemingway was
not talking about actual breaks, like my wrist, but emotional ones. But the fear is the same same. It’s hard to grow up excited and willing to try new things, if you fear the reactions of those who are closest to you. Kids (and eventually adults because that’s what kids become ... hopefully) need to be loved and supported through mistakes and accidents. That’s how we heal. The cast healed my bone, but what about my emotional healing? That accident and the reaction to it followed me into adulthood. When I failed things it was a major blow. When my first business was a flop, I was looking for a whip to flog myself with. I was a mess. Other business owners would try to console me by saying each failing or mistake was an opportunity to learn something. I couldn't see past the emotional part of failing. I took failing so personally. I identified with the “I” in Failing. Trying new things or new businesses was such an emotional risk until I learned not take them as personal failings. Being able to learn from the breaks has empowered me to come back stronger from every fall. And that my dear readers ... is success.