As Thomas Edison once remarked when he was questioned about his ongoing and frustrating experiments in inventing an electric lightbulb that would be cheap enough for mass distribution: “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” (Forbes, June 9, 2011)
Most of us have failed at one thing or another, some of us have failed many times. Success entails NOT in overcoming your fear of failure but in knowing that you CAN fail and doing it anyway. Detractors will come from surprising sources - even family and friends. Supporters will come from surprising sources - even complete strangers who, perhaps, once embarked on a similar journey of their own.
Keep going. Keep experimenting with all the 10,000 ways that ultimately won't work until you find the way that will. Follow your dreams, knowing that you can fail and planning for that failure. Then get up and try again. Expecting and planning for failure until you are astonished and delighted at success.
Most of you know that Harmony Moon began 25 years ago in Alexandria, Virginia. We nearly closed our doors during the Great Recession of 2008-2012 . We experimented with 10,000 ways to keep the doors open and when we could no longer afford the commercial rents in the DC-area, we packed up and moved to the Shenandoah Valley. When the Great Pandemic started, it was, in the words of Yogi Berra, "Deja vu all over again." And so, 8 years after our move to Staunton and a year into the covid19 pandemic, we are astonished and delighted that we are still here. Day by day, we get up, open the doors and keep on doing what we do. And in more than 10,000 ways, we are grateful for your support.
Let's keep going.
