Different Parts of Success.

First of all, sorry, it has been waayyy to long since I've written a blog, or at least it feels that way. But I'm back, and I'm ready to pump a couple more out through Christmas Vacation. Woot Woot! haha, anyways....

Success is a very interesting thing. To succeed for one person may be another's failure, or vice versa. But whatever your definition of success is or what ever goal it is you are trying to reach, there are some universal parts:

1) Simply Just Doing It.

I have to say, one of the biggest reasons people don't do things, or fail at them is that they give up before they even try. They have a preconceived notion that they aren't good enough, that the competition is at a higher level then they are, that they simply cannot do it so they should not even try. Well let me tell you, that is a butt load of bull crap.

Often enough, by simply trying to do it, whatever it may be whether it is an audition or some kind of application or something completely different, you can get it. Now I'm not suggesting to go in to whatever you are doing without any preparation or effort, because you should always put some kind of effort in to what you are doing. Think of it as the more effort you put into it, the better results you will likely get from it.

A couple weeks ago, one of my private teachers gave me a little lecture about a lesson to be learned from a mistake another student had made where they ended up not auditioning for a group that they could have easily made. The student just became too nervous and didn't show up, even though they were much more than well prepared. This teacher is a very amazing musician and has had much experience in a field where auditioning is a regular occurrence. The piece of advice he offered me was to simply do the audition, or run for a position, or whatever such thing it may be, because people just want to see some one try and they can see the potential in you.

For example, coming into freshman year when I had just transferred to Kingsburg, I wasn't a very good trombone player, but my brother talked to the music teacher and got me a time to go audition for the higher band and I could have simply not tried because I didn't think I was good enough, but what did I have to lose? And what do you know, I ended up making it into the band, I just needed to TRY. Or my sophomore year, when I ran for Vice President. I wasn't the most popular kid on campus, to be honest, not a whole lot of people really knew me, but people still voted for me and gave me the position because they wanted to see what I could do! And I have many more instances, but I'll move on.

2) Rejection

This is the worst part, but is a much needed part of the process. I think it is an important part because it helps show your weaknesses, so that you can improve on them. The only problem is that some people take this as they failed and then give up. There is one quote that stands out to me that I can specifically remember that relates to this:

"The Only True Failure is when you stop trying."

This actually comes from the Haunted Mansion Movie, when Eddie Murphy's character can't get into the mansion to save his wife and starts to give up because his other attempts have failed and so he starts to lose hope and then the little Madame in the crystal ball tells him this to make him keep going and eventually does it.

But the quote stood out to me, and still does today, because it basically means you may try and fail, try and fail, try and fail, but you only really fail when you give up and lose your drive. It's like that one saying from Edison about creating the light bulb: "I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work."

I recently found out I didn't make the California All-State Honor Jazz Choir. I may have failed to make it into the group, but I think it was a success for me and an overall good experience. I walked into the audition recording having spent some good time learning my material and gave my best at the time. It simply showed me that I still can grow some more in my vocal jazz, as I'm not quite at the level of some of the others. Did it discourage me from singing? Heck No! I really enjoy singing and I'm not half bad, so I figure maybe I'll work a bit harder next year and learn all that I can until then, audition again, and hopefully make it!

3) Persistency

All I have to say is keep trying, and trying, and trying, and trying until you get what you are after. That is the key after facing your rejection or small failures. You can't give up on what you're after. You just simply cannot do that. And trust me, after all this hard work and everything you have gone through to get to your goal or your point of success, it is that much sweeter and enjoyable to finally reach.

Now the sad reality is, you may not always win all of your excursions and meet "Success". But in these cases, the true success is that you did your best possible attempt. You'll walk away with no regrets, and even though you didn't get that special little extra part, you will still be very pleased and happy with yourself. In my freshman year, I swam the 500 Free on Varsity, which is 20 laps for all you non-swimmers out there. I remember walking away from one race having swam it in 10 minutes flat and I felt like I was on top of the world, even though I got whooped by the guy who got first place with a time under 7 minutes. I did my best and was proud of myself. And in the end, that is what it is all about.