What matters is what we do next. And what's next has got us very excited.
–Tony & Dustin
Failing is the practice we need
When I was asked to write for this issue of the Pod-Zine and was given the topic of failure, I was immediately reminded of all the lessons I learned from a lifetime of stumbling my way to where I am today. We often talk about our successes while omitting to talk about the obstacles we had to overcome.
I’ve experienced failure in many ways; from failed business ventures, failed relationships, failure to win gold in a music competition, an unhappy client from a creative presentation, losing an RFP, and the list goes on. In these dire moments, I often seek guidance from my mentors, get out of my environment/comfort zone to spend time looking inwards, find better ways to communicate and manage client expectations, sign up for courses to further upskill, and practice my performance again and again and again. Don’t give up, “even though you’re fed up, you got to keep ya head up.” ~ Tupac
These have all been humbling moments of reflection, and I have been fortunate to have both family and friends who push me to learn and move on.
The perception of failure changes depending on the culture. Do we choose to look down on those who miss the mark? Or do we change our mindsets and promote a culture of rebounding? Because after each failure, it’s possible to bounce back and transform the difficulties of the past into the strengths of the present. Failure is anything but definitive—it is the initiator of change.
–Kapil Suri
Zine Squad
Failure Quote
“I was holding court at an off-campus house party my senior year of college. I was buzzed and loudly telling a story when the door I was leaning against gave out. I proceeded to fall down a long flight of stairs into a giant pile of garbage.”
–Anonymous
“In 2011, my former boyfriend spent Valentine’s Day washing his car. I went out with a friend and returned to find that he’d left a card and on my doorstep. The flowers, I later learned, he’d taken from his aunt’s funeral. The card said 'Congratulations on your new baby boy.'"
–Jessica Reed
“It happened on a rainy night in Paris whenI surfed down the stairs of the Cour Saint-Èmilion Metro, shins first, in front of many strangers. I’ll never forget the mortification, the sting of the injury or the cute heels I was (unwisely) running in.”
–Minna Ninova
“I wasn’t the main character in this story, but an old roommate of mine fell asleep while making herself a late-night quesadilla and we both woke up to the sound of the fire department banging on our door.”
–Minna Ninova
“I let my dog chase squirrels until she caught one and I couldn’t figure out my emotions. I was repulsed, yet proud. I was screaming yet laughing. The squirrel lived but we got too deep into David Attenborough territory for my comfort.“
–Minna Ninova
“I’ve been a pretty good traveler over the years, but every once in a while, I get something wrong. Like showing up at the airport on the wrong day. Or arriving at JFK for a trip to Canada without my passport. And one time in Amsterdam… “
–Anonymous
“I love cornbread. But it is my baking Waterloo. I must have made a half dozen attempts to get it right. The box recipes are terrible. I once mixed up the sugar and salt ratio. I did the same with baking soda and powder. Awful results. Inedible.“
–Anonymous
Parenthood Fails
“Ronney’s way of saying… I don’t like this food, we better bury this sh*t.”
–Carlos
We just moved to a new apartment. The other day we enter the elevator with the building leasing office employees—two people (we met them on the day before). My three-year-old Alice says, “Hi, this is my Mommy and she burps very loud” : ).
–Fernanda Vicente
“Girls, name three things your Mom is good at?”
“No one knows.”
–Margaret Chan, 3 years old
I learned you have to make a firm decision about letting your dog sleep with you or not and stick with it—Ffurever! I let McKenna sleep in my bed for a few nights when I first got her but then—questioning my decision—made her sleep in her own bed. The next morning I woke up to the Little Princess’s revenge shit on the bedroom floor. Needless to say, she now shares my bed each and every night. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say it’s really her bed now, and I just get to sleep in it!
–Brooke Rothman
