It’s true. I continually fail at far more attempted endeavors than I’ll ever succeed at.
Lost auditions, school rejection letters, unaccepted grant applications, uninterested publishers, girls who wouldn’t give their number, uncompleted projects, ideas that proved to be altogether worthless. I’ve seen it all- and that’s the short list. The long one just might be too much for you to read, and too humiliating for me to bear.
But failing so many times, and so often, is exactly the reason I choose to push onward, following every silly notion that arises and regularly juggling multiple undertakings. Doesn’t make any sense? Read on!
I’ve previously mentioned how ideas from one area of life or business can be repurposed to fit your life and circumstances. The case of failure is no different.
100-10-1
In the past, I’ve heard that advertisers and marketers have often figured that for every 100 people interested in their product, 10 will seek out more about it, and only 1 will actually make a purchase. In all honesty, those numbers are actually probably quite optimistic. But it’s the concept, rather than the hard and fast statistics, that’s important. Just as other information science rules (such as Pareto’s 80/20) are “cross-platform” and applicable to many parts of our lives, so too is 100-10-1 applicable to failure.
The way I see it, of every 100 zany ideas that pop into my head, I’ll most likely only set out to pursue 10 of them. Some of those won’t be followed through on. Some will turn out to be duds- stupid ideas that I eventually realize were a waste of my time. Some will go over like a lead balloon when presented to the world. Ultimately (and if I’m lucky), I’ll make it through to the finish line with 1, and it’ll be halfway decent. Score! Oh, sweet success!
That’s why I said above that “failing so many times, and so often, is exactly the reason I choose to push onward, following every silly notion that arises and regularly juggling multiple undertakings.” I realize that, in order to reach even a few goals and attain the handful of successes that I’d like, it’s necessary to start off on a whole pile of soon-to-be failed attempts.
As I’m writing this, I just happened to glance at tonight’s to-do list that I wrote this afternoon. Of the ten items listed, I see that only three are crossed off (this post being one of them). The other seven may, or may not, get done tonight, this week, or ever. But I guess that 3 out of 10 puts me a bit ahead of the curve!
I’m going to get crackin’ and will keep you posted on future fails. In the meantime, comment below about your own, and check out these posts on the topic by a few of my favorite bloggers!
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Don’t despair quite yet Mark
We all fail…all it means is you know how NOT to do something. Fail enough & eventually you’ll figure it out.
I always encourage my drum students to take chances, try playing beyond their perceived limitations and allow themselves to make mistakes. In addition to creating a couple of cool ideas on their own, they’ll also learn, as you said, what NOT to do when playing with other musicians. Just as valuable. Thanks, Joel!
So true. Many people don’t start things or even try because they are afraid of failure and think that they have to get it done and well if they are going to start. There are a lot of mistakes and half done projects that have turned into really cool things. Success, does indeed, come with many failures. *Nice new blog layout*
Hey, Jason! You’re totally right . . . I often see the fear of failure keep people from even giving things a shot in the first place. Thanks for the read and comment- glad you dig the new look!
As many quote “As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”
Although, through divination, Tesla got most of his much more complex inventions right on the first try…maybe we can take something from his book and apply it to drumming.
Thanks for the awesome quote! That really is the way we should look at things since, I suppose, we can’t all be Tesla. Hmm . . . great idea. Perhaps someone could write “The Nikola Tesla Approach to Creative Drumming.” I like it!
Mark:
Thanks for the link love back to my blog. Appreciate it. I agree with your post. Failure is a part of success, as long as we learn from failure and don’t keep repeating it. Failure isn’t really failure anyways, it’s just learning what NOT to do.
Thanks man!
Absolutely, Daniel- I dig all of the amazing content you’re pumping out on your site! You’re right on the money . . . NOT repeating the learned mistakes is definitely the real key. Thanks for dropping a line!
Mark, man, have I been there. I have been kicking over the idea of starting my own biz for awhile now, but the ‘what if I fail’ thing always looms large, quelling any attempt to move further. SO, I started putting the following quote by Martha Graham into practice, and things are shifting…even if it’s only my attitude. Check it out:
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”
Thanks for everything you do to “keep the channel open,”
Diane
What a great quote.
“It is not your business to determine . . . how it compares with other expressions.” Very important to remember- it’s so easy to compare and judge yourself against others’ work and achievements.
“No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction . . . “ How true this is. I don’t know many musicians that are completely satisfied with the level our playing is at, or totally happy with tracks we record. It is that “blessed unrest that keeps us marching . . . “
Thanks, Diane!