I recently attended a meeting at the Osoyoos Toastmaster Club, I was fortunate to be there for a speech from Sean Wurz.

His speech was 7 minutes long, he removed the lectern away from his speaking area and did not rely on notes. All commendable attributes to make note of, but what really spoke was his inspiring message.

It all started in that place where most disasters are born.  The circumstances around its conception remain unclear.  Perhaps I was trying to impress a girl.  Maybe I was trying to one up a friend.  Or perhaps, I was just feeling a little too good about myself.  Whatever its origins, I got it into my head that I was going to do a 360 (in the air) on skis.  I practiced the move in my head, I imagined twisting my shoulders and making a clean landing.  Splat.  I didn’t quite make it.  Not the first time, nor the second time, nor any subsequent time I tried it.

My idea did not translate to success.

Ideas are funny things.  Sometimes they lead to success, and sometimes they don’t.  So often we look at the latter as failure.  But is it really?  Ideas shape our world.  We can see this clearly all around us.  whether it be in trivial places like  the world of sports, or in our own lives.

Ideas are funny things, and Sean’s opening about his failed 360 degree spin, or his successful 270 degree spin made me wonder where his speech was leading. He then spoke about sports, and he clearly knew more about sports than I did.  He started to get to the heart of his speech. That every person needs to be willing to attempt,  to risk failure, and to accept that you may not succeed,  but that you should not allow that potential failure to block you from trying.

The greatest thing about accepting failure is that it guarantees that you will be upwardly mobile.  There is a proverb that says God resists the proud but He exalts the humble.

Let’s face it, willingly embracing failure takes humility.  Once again, the upside is that once you embrace failure you will be upwardly mobile.  Let’s face it, when you’re wrong, or you’ve clearly failed, there is nowhere to go but up.

 Like Sean and his  360 degree attempt while skiing, you may never realize success in one particular endeavor, but in embracing failure with a smile on your face you may encourage someone else to consider something or try something they never would have done otherwise. 

Somewhere down the line, that person will realize success beyond their greatest dreams. 

And that,   is the real beauty of a perfect 270

Dive into challenges!

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