Failure, please, failure is just a motivator to succeed.

I was having a conversation with someone the other day who asked me what my biggest failures have been.

I laughed, literally, out loud. This seems like such a silly question. My biggest failures? You want just one? Do you mean the biggest hurdles? The times that seemed like failures until I realized they weren't? The creative ways for the world to kick my rear back to where it should be?

I have "failed" so many times that I've lost count. How many times have I seen crazy great things come out of insanely insurmountable challenges? A few. But then again, I guess no challenge is totally insurmountable.

I was having a conversation with my dad a couple of months ago. He was saying that he felt like he had wasted this last year - hadn't done all he could do to REALLY take advantage of the year.

My response was that amidst all of the chemo, radiation, doctor appointments, birthday parties, portrait unveilings, christmas, and new years, he spent more time with his family in this last year than he had probably ever done prior - combined.

What he initially saw as a failure on his part was the largest gift ever given to me.

Don't forget to look for the reasons why you are dusting yourself off as you stand up from being thrown down.