Failure is something that has plagued me, all my life.

Scenario 1: When I was 16 I enrolled in a program to take College classes and get highschool credit for it. I was a hard working highschool student, but college was a lot less structured, and I found myself not motivated to go to school.

Final Result? My 3.85 GPA went down to a 2.0, and I could never catch up on the credits I needed to graduate with my class. I was humiliated, and just gave up altogether. I went back and got a GED when I was 22, but that sense of failure has stuck with me.

Scenario 2: I was an avid boy scout, going to scout camp, working hard to get my life scout, working towards eagle. I was even tapped for Order of the Arrow at one point -  a prestigious elite group within the boy scouts. I worked hard to progress towards my Eagle Scout award.

Final Result: In the end I was only a few merit badges, and a service project away from my goal, but the time passed, I procrastinated, and couldn’t get everything done in time.

Scenario 3: As a Mormon, we’re encouraged to serve a 2 year mission for the Church. We are expected to pay as much of the living expenses as we can for those 2 years, and sometimes our home ward or branch can make up the difference.

Final  Result: I got into the credit trap at 18, and was 3000 in the hole by the time I was ready to go on a mission. I continued further into the debt trap, and am only now getting out if it, thanks to my success in blogging.

Scenario 4: I was 23 I took a huge chance – having never lived on my own, I uprooted myself, moved to Utah, and went to Massage School. I worked hard and graduated with a 3.56 gpa. At some points I was close to not making it, and just graduating felt great.

Final Result: I graduated, but never actually got licensed, and thus have not made one dollar from that profession.

Honorable Mentions: Weight issues have always plagued me, debt has always been a struggle, and I have been known to set many goals, and just let them fall by the wayside.This of course is in the past tense, which means that we can change our course, or direction in life. I did.

My Life Now: Now I swim 3 hours x 5 days a week. I’ve lost 150 lbs since January. My Blogs are bringing in $2,580 a month. I’m going back to school in the fall for Sustainability, and Renewable Energy.

Moral of the story – we all have regrets, we all have failures that loom over our head. Sometimes it’s really hard to come so far, only to fail at the last minute – but it’s part of life. Life’s best lessons are the one’s that taste sour.

Sometimes we actually self-sabotage ourselves. I know I’ve often felt inadequate, which caused me to give up on a goal prematurely. Sometimes I felt unworthy of the success waiting at the end.

Now I know that I can do anything that I desire. I can be successful, I deserve it. Stay positive and never give up. Failure only brings you closer to your ultimate success.

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