life lessons: failure.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
Bill Cosby

Today I had quite an epiphany. A while back I had started some design work for a client who I knew on a personal level. This certain client has a spectacular, successful new business. I was excited because this was a great opportunity for me to help someone I knew and to get a great piece added to my portfolio. Needless to say, what ended up happening was that they used my design for a while and it ended up not being what exactly what they wanted and they ended up getting a new designer a year later. and I wasn't used to that. I felt as though I had let them down and myself down as an artist and a designer. I felt like a failure, even though it was one client and one project. This company now has a spectacular web site up and is very well done and creative. And I guess that's just how it goes. The worst part was that I knew I couldn't done better or tried harder. It made me question whether or not this was what I was meant to do. It made me question whether or not I WANTED to do this the rest of my life.

Some people will like you, but it wont be right for them. Some people will hate you. Some people will love you.

I've had very little formal training and have been 99% self trained, so I have always felt a little bit at a disadvantage or a little unsure of myself as an artist. My "Achilles heel" so to speak. But after lots of thought and praying and working things out in my head (and through this blog) I've realized that failure and rejection are a simple part of the learning process and the growing process. Sometimes it's a good thing for you to be "just not what we are looking for". It's a good thing to fail sometimes. It gives you a chance to step back and look at yourself and what you do with a critical eye.

But today, I'm officially dusting my shoulders off. I dont tend to write about personal things, but I felt that this may be able to relate with some of you who have ever faced the same problems. Have you ever felt like giving up or failed at something, how did you deal with it? what epiphanies did you experience? What did you learn? I'd love to hear!

Ta Ta for now.