Listen here.
There's a quote that really hit me when I first saw it:
"A dreamer fails multiple times. A failure fails only once." - Manoj Arora
The first time I heard it, I had to sit with it for a second. Because honestly? It's kind of profound -- especially when you look at it through the lens of business and entrepreneurship.
Think about it. So many of the most successful people you admire had multiple businesses, multiple ideas, multiple "flops" before they landed on the thing that actually worked, And that got me thinking -- what were they actually counting as failure? An idea that just didn't pan out? Or was it something more personal, like realizing they weren't even passionate about the idea in the first place?
Because here's the thing: I don't think failure has one universal meaning. And yeah, that might be a little controversial, but hear me out.
Pivots Aren't Failures
If we're defining failure purely as "an idea that didn't make money," then I've failed a lot. I've pivoted more times than I can count. But were those real failures? Or were they just me figuring out what I actually wanted?
I think there's a massive difference between quitting and pivoting. A true failure -- in the spirit of that quote -- is someone who tries something once, decides it didn't work, and never tries again. A dreamer, on the other hand, is relentless. They'll take the L, learn from it, and be back at it before you even knew they were down.
That's the energy. That's the difference.
The Job Market, Degrees, and Feeling Like You "Failed"
This idea of failure goes way beyond business, though. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, especially living near a college campus. Every year, a new graduating class steps out into a job market that, let's be real, is really hard right now. And so many of them are going to end up not working in the field they spent four-plus years studying.
I can say that from personal experience. I graduated right in the middle of COVID in the heart of Los Angeles with a film degree. The industry wasn't exactly rolling out the welcome mat. I got to work on a few indie sets -- and honestly, the people made it amazing -- but it wasn't the path I envisioned. And I know I'm not alone in that.
If I had to guess, I could count on one - maybe two - hands, the number of people from my graduating class who are actively working in what they went to school for. That's...a lot of "failures" by conventional standards. But are they really failures? Or are they people who tried one path, found it wasn't for them, and had the courage to find another?
I say the latter.
Your Passion Is Your Purpose
If you've been around here for a while, you know this is something I come back to again and again -- because I genuinely believe it. Your passion is your purpose. Finding what truly lights you up is one of the most important things you can do for your own happiness and fulfillment.
And sometimes that takes time. A lot of time. I grew up dancing -- it was literally my entire world. I went to college for dance. I thought that was it for me. And then I got exposed to new things, new electives, new fields, and suddenly the world felt a lot bigger than I knew it was. How was I supposed to know at 17 what I wanted to do with the rest of my life?
That curiosity, that openness to exploring -- that's not a character flaw. I think it might actually be one of the defining qualities of a dreamer.
So Are You A Dreamer?
Here's where I land on all of this: I think calling someone a "failure" is really harsh. And most of the time, it's not even accurate.
A pivot isn't a failure. A side path isn't a failure. Trying something, realizing it's not right for you, and being brave enough to start again? That's not failure -- that's growth.
Dreamers fail multiple times because they keep going. They keep trying. They refuse to let one closed door be the end of the story.
So if you've been sitting with the weight of something you think you failed at -- a business, a career, a degree -- I want you to reframe that. Because the fact that you're still here, still searching, still dreaming? That's not failure. That's the whole point.
I'd love to know -- what's your take on failure? Do you think there's a universal definition, or does it mean something different for everyone? Drop a comment and let me know. We're building something real here, and your perspective matters.
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