Keep Moving Forward

So there is this cute little movie called “Meet the Robinsons”.  Ever heard of it?  Don’t worry, if you haven’t its not that big a deal.  It is an animated movie that centers around a brilliant little boy, named Lewis, who is an inventor.  Lewis is also an orphan and desperately wants a family to adopt him.  If you haven’t seen the movie, go watch it, I don’t want to give too much of it away…  Just be prepared for the predictable plot line, and happy ending that are usually associated to Disney movies.

I had seen this movie a couple of years ago after it was in the theaters, and I just saw it again the other day.  Throughout the movie, Lewis is encouraged by a futuristic family to “Keep Moving Forward”.   It didn’t matter how much you failed.  In fact, failure was looked upon as a good thing, and not something to be ashamed about.  Failure was viewed as a  ‘you tried, and ok, it didn’t work, but you tried and you are making steps in the right direction “Keep Moving Forward”.’   In reality, this is a really good motto.

The one thing about the movie that I had forgotten was that at the end of the movie there was a wonderful little quote that was displayed…

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. ” – Walt Disney

So back to that motto.  Ok, so you failed.  Seriously ?  Who doesn’t ?  I’ve had my fair share of them.  I’m willing to admit that.  I think that with every failure, you can do one of a couple of things.  You can stew about it, worry about it, think how badly you did… or you can take it, say “I want to learn from this” and keep moving forward.  I know, there are a thousand motto’s out there about failing and failure, and the most common is that you will never learn from successes, but will learn from your failures, blah blah blah… ya ya ya. I get it.  Likely this is very true.  However, I find that it seems like this is the hard path to take on this concept.  See, where I’m going is this:  If you fail, you can look at it in a light where, yes, I learned a lesson, and yes, I will not repeat that again;  Or, and this is a big OR, you can say, “yup, I failed.  Ok great ! How is it that I can really take advantage of this fantastic opportunity that has been presented to me with this failure.  How can I take this and make it/me/my life/or whatever, so much better than what I thought it could have been with that other idea(l), ya ya, that one that failed? ”

Early on in my career, I was working at a company, and unbenounced  to me, and prior to my arrival at this company, their senior management had decided that they were going from a centralized shop to a decentralized shop.   So after 9 months with this company, I was let go.  I felt like my entire world was coming down around me, I felt like I had failed, I had failed to see this coming, I failed in my efforts in my new career, etc…  My girlfriend at the time had suggested I get in contact with a guy she knew (or heard of), he worked at some consulting company.  At the time, I had no idea what consulting was.  I had an interview and was immediately offered a job.  My life took a path that I had no idea where it was going or what would come along.  I was given opportunities for growth and for the most part, I enjoyed the work.  Part of my work meant that I now had to travel.  Since that point, I have not only taken advantage of the travel assignments where I’ve had to work, but also taken to travelling far and wide for my own interests.  I feel that I have been so exceptionally fortunate to have seen parts of the world that not many get to.  At the time, it was difficult to see where things were going for me.  However, being let go, that was the best thing that ever happened to me.  I was taken down a new path that has fulfilled me in ways I could not have imagined…. Failure ?  I don’t think so.  I couldn’t have been presented with a greater opportunity.  To be honest, I wouldn’t mind a few more failures like this.

So my only advice to you, if you are in your darkest times.  Don’t worry, things will change. And I’m guessing that if you have the right outlook on life.  You will be amazed at where life will take you.  Just Keep Moving Forward.

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2 Responses to Keep Moving Forward

  1. sado says:

    Thanks for nice message Randy. How are things going and where are you now?

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