Great point.

Along those lines, I forget who said it but something like
"Win or learn (but never lose)"

To me, losing is quitting. Not succeeding is quitting.

I think the premise of this thread should not be failure/not succeeding, but rather

Being driven to continue moving forward versus giving up.
If you continue to move forward you will succeed, and I've always looked at goals as just a means to keep moving forward. Goals change along the way.

Thanks all - especially the later posts as those views and opinions speak to me in a way to help me resolve this question. One of my main struggles is learning how to 'turndown' my inner 'drive'. That drive has been both a blessing and somewhat of a curse...............not sure if that's the right wording.

In extremely tough times personally and professionally, its how I succeeded. But the same drive also can 'drive' me crazy, feel restless in better times.......

Maybe the key is "I haven't succeeded yet"

FWIW...when I was in the Kessler Institute for SCI I had many bad days. On one of those days I told my aide that I wasn't up to the routine this day. She said "OK Tom. That's all right for today. But let me tell you, that bed is a thief. And it will steal your life if you let it." I got up and got on with it. I've been doing it every day since then. My goal? Just keep getting up every day and getting on with it.

My point is to keep trying. Even if the goal is unclear. Trying is doing. One day you will feel that you have reached the finish line. But even if you don't then remember this ...stop trying start dying.

Failure and success are arbitrary parameters.

I'm in a transition phase at the moment and, at the tender age of 45, have decided I need to do a job I'm passionate about and not just chase a paycheck. Current job is by far the worst I've ever had. I was treated like more of an adult when I flipped burgers at Wendy's in high school. But it pays the bills and it's easier to find a job when you have a job. I'm actually doing pretty well and have some big deals brewing. But I still hate it with a burning passion, and that's no way to start every day.

A close friend at a major musical instrument maker has said he would love to have me on his team. But it's a big pay cut. Still, I'm seriously considering it because I can afford the pay cut for a year or two and that job would be a hobby job with my foot in the door to get better ones inside after paying my dues. Other than such a hobby job, I don't even bother applying for anything else anymore. Another place I've wanted to work for a while just turned me down after the fourth interview in three years. This was the third time they've just decided to cancel the job posting and didn't reject me personally. They always encourage me to keep applying and they keep calling me back. Very frustrating, but that's the price I pay for chasing W2 jobs working for the man.

It is the noticing that his work was "good." that caused his work to be picked up. The luck for him was that his GF sent in his material, that was the timing.

Good work rings with the clarity of a bell. It catches the attention.

I think you're asking the wrong questions.

Who cares what you call it?
You life is your life.

Either you are satisfied or you're not. If you're not dissatisfied enough to do anything about it, that means you're more satisfied than not.

You have a stable country job. Obviously it means something to you, or your would not stay. If you wanted IT, you'd find a way to get back in.

My guess is that you're satisfied with your life.

I think they made a movie about this subject..."The Paper Chase."

Very well stated. Fully concur.

I don't think that is a fair assessment if "success" eludes you based on factors beyond your control.

There are situations where you will never be able to achieve that which was one within reach, no matter how hard you work or how bad you continue to want it, and if you don't reconcile those things, they will hold you back from achieving other things.

I don't think the man was satisfied with his life when he uttered the famous words " I coulda been a contenda".

Some people take those regrets to their grave

There is no twitch in what I write, it is all very clean in content, I can slice the bacon in razor thin slices. It has the ringing clarity of the hammer on the anvil, tempered by the heat of the forge. Sometimes the execution maybe a little quirky but that has to do with the stream of consciousness coming up from the subconscious. I sometimes think that I use archaic forms of language? Also I am trying to grasp a fleeting sentiment and articulate it as clearly as I can before it disappears into the ether.

In my set pieces I would start with an idea to articulate and it usually goes from there, one line at a time, winding up someplace that I never envisioned. It is like creating and working through an equation as you go..to come to a conclusion or answer at the end.

I think that what I do is rather unique as there is virtually no differentiation between the subconscious and the conscious as it is a melding of the the two in a free flow of information and calculation It is that inner voice of the ages that is speaking. It is something greater than I that is speaking, something from the subconscious which is the repository of the collective memory. That voice is what has the ringing clarity of the hammer on the anvil. Being able to express those sentiments clearly is the result of having unraveled my internal ball of string.

You could say that inner voice is the voice of the integrated self. Virtually without any perceptional bias, with the cavets being ones personal likes and dislikes in living (the example being do you like peanut butter with sardines or don't you?).

Everything is clear cut and delineated. Switch on switch off.

How many bong hits preceded that?

I knew a fool would step up to the plate. Looks like you are it. I am merely describing what I do, because you do not understand it, it shows your ignorance and lack of self awareness. You have exposed your belly to me, eg your weakness, flaws and or limitations in thinking. You are easy to get around as you are so muddled up.

Son I have been doing this for over 40 years, and there is a thing in science called Neural Plasticity...look it up (the wiring in the Brain changes). It can be equated to being an Apprentice over time becoming a Journeyman and then a Master Craftsman. I would say that I have had the epiphany of realizing and thus having arrived at the later state of being. I have lived by the motto, nothing before it's time.


Ohhh btw I had already thought of what I was going to say in response to the fool that did step up to the plate. So I was ready for someone like you. NEXT?