One day that winter

I was tidying up my office and wound up paging through my old Porter Magazine collection. I noticed an article headline that caught my attention “one day that spring”… and it inspired a new series. I love how it immediately evoked emotion and excitement for a story to be shared.

A seasonal post that will shed light on a memory of mine. The kind of moments, lessons, or milestones in your life that you will always remember. The scenarios that play in your head occasionally and when you’re older, you will ‘tell the tale of’ someday.

It was winter 2016. We were up in Tahoe for a new years eve ski trip with a handful of friends. Sitting next to the fire with wine and some board games, we got sidetracked in conversation. It was the year that I had left my 9-5 job to pursue my blog full-time. I was about 6 months into self-employment and still navigating running my own business.

A friend of ours asked me—what is your biggest fear with this leap you took? I remembered that my answer came top of mind almost immediately and I responded—failing. I knew that my decision to leave the safety net of a steady salary surprised a lot of people around me. It was a risk, and quite a big one, so I get it. The topic of failing weighed heavy on me in those early days.

I’ve thought about this memory a lot, through both hard times and really empowering moments. Over the years, I’ve had my missteps, but I kept going and lead with heartfelt instincts, and in turn watched my business grow and flourish in new ways.

It got me thinking—I don’t view failure the same way anymore or believe it to be a morbid end-all when you genuinely love something. I have refused to fail in times I definitely could have thrown in the towel. The enjoyment and reward are far too great to give up something that makes you happy.

I’m not afraid to fail anymore, I openly welcome the lessons learned while in those valleys. Those moments are the conduit to growth and allow you to dial deeper into yourself and craft. The kind of thing I wish I could have told my twenty-something year old self…

I’ve always loved this quote, I thought of it while writing this post 🤍

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that something won’t work.” —Thomas Edison

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