Success and Failure as an Author

Success and failure is always there, you’ll always have ups and downs, no matter how you look at it at times things will be better than another time. You can change your perspective, you can change your attitude but the truth of the matter is at times things won’t run so smoothly. And there’s nothing wrong with that, if you read any of my other posts on other subjects you’d know I tell you to embrace those times, embrace failure, embrace when you’re not so good, get better and move on.

As an athlete

As an athlete it’s a wonder how we hold up so well, at the same time it shouldn’t be much a surprise when a body or mind breaks down. I truly believe every injury comes from the mind first, you get in trouble with the head office, a fight with a teammate or you’re not performing so well. These are the times when injuries are most prevalent, our minds are cluttered, stress is weighing on us emotionally and all of a sudden our knee starts to bothers or, out of the blue we strain a hamstring, doesn’t matter the injury, whatever comes up starts with the mind first.

Ups and Downs

There are so many ups and downs in sports, you’re great one day then struggle the next. Management loves you today but tomorrow they may trade you, on top of that they tell you not to worry about it after all ‘it’s just business’. That’s how it goes though, it’s no different than every day life. Sometimes we do well at our jobs, sometimes we make the right decisions with our career or family or whatever it may be; and other times we struggle, we have a rough day, didn’t do a project right, forgot about the kids game. These ups and downs are life, some might call them the hard knocks of life but I choose to simple call it life. They aren’t so bad, not if you don’t let them be. It’s simply the way it is.

New Order and Self Doubt

I was all excited I had a new order that just came in. 250 books! Wow, I remember when I didn’t know if 10 would sell. So I’m both excited and scared, this is a big deal, this is a big leap. What happens if they don’t sell, this is a rather large investment for me; what if people stop buying them, what if stores stop carrying them, what am I going to do with all these books? Self doubt is apparent most times when we take a risk, it’s what puts the hair up on the back of our necks, it’s that little feeling in our stomach that we can’t quite figure out what it is, it makes us alive, aware and offers an edge that isn’t always there. As excitement of a new order runs through my body, at the same time we release a new cover, but that’s not where it ends. I just happen to have a book signing this weekend! It’s time to start selling these books and see how well the new cover goes over.

Book Signing

So there I was primed and ready to try out my new poster, the new cover and break open these boxes. Well it just so happened I took about a 25 min detour trying to find this place I’ve only been to once, in a part of the city I’ve only been to once. Upon arrival I wouldn’t say I received the warmest welcome, which I wasn’t ready for in anyway. Still flustered from not being able to find the place, nervous as I always am stepping out of my comfort zone holding book signings and lastly the usual warm smiles and friendly faces I usually get from staff and was half expecting simply wasn’t there. But this is part of it, and I understand that and I certainly wasn’t going to let this opening experience ruin my day. It wasn’t a great day, in fact it took close to 2 hrs before anyone came over to the table but what can you do, it’s just another day with a little more expectation on my part. I did get to talk to some very nice people, I did have a chance to share my book with a few people which clearly brightened their day; little did they know they did the same for me. So what do you take out of a day like this?
Detoxify Yourself Book Signing at Chapters

So what now?

So what do you take out of a day like this? I know this doesn’t sound like the best day and I certainly hope I didn’t sound like I was complaining. I was open and honest to share with you things don’t always go so well, they’re not always peaches and cream; everyone isn’t always friendly, the table isn’t always packed with people interested in what you’re doing there. But is this any different than life, is this different than an athlete or a mother. We all have great days and we all have days that don’t go so well. It’s all how we see it. I see this day as a victory because I placed my success rate on weather or not I’d be able to sit myself in front of a store once again, take myself out of my comfort zone, feel a little awkward and realize I’m going to be okay. I also chalk this day us as a victory because I didn’t let getting lost ruin my day, I didn’t let an unfriendly welcome put me in a bad mood I carried and now here I am sharing my story with you hoping that you can take something from this story too. Sometimes we get super excited and sometimes we get really down. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating success (in fact I encourage it) and there’s nothing wrong with being disappointed when things don’t go so well. But if we could take things in stride not get over excited either way, not too down, not too high; when those ups and downs come we’ll be more prepared to handle any situation that may arise.

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