What if…you didn’t fail at THAT?

Earlier today, a question I saw got me thinking.  The question was something like, “what piece of advice would you give someone age 16-25?”  

My answer was this: If a thought pops into your head that you want to try something - do it!  

It seems like such a small thing, right?  Yet, as people (women, especially) we hold ourselves back.  We’re not good enough.  We’re afraid to fail (have you seen the Pinterest fails?!).  We don’t have the right experience.  And the list goes on.

Would you rather spend your entire life wondering “what would have happened if I…” or knowing you tried it, and it worked out or not?

Let me tell you a story about something I tried.  And, yes, my husband thought I was CRAZY to do this.  

We have this ugly overhang on part of our ceiling, and in the middle - but NOT centered - is the air return vent for the furnace.  A huge distracting eyesore.  I wanted to cover it.  So I started doing some investigation.

I google searched.  I pinterested.  I amazoned.  Decorative grates were costly, and not that pretty.  Art work to cover it - REALLY expensive.  So I sat back and stared at the wall for a couple more months.  

And it hit me - what if I could MAKE some art work to cover it?  So I Jo-anned.  And I craft warehoused. And I painted a huge 36x48 canvas into a mountain landscape view.  For about $40.

(And the cost of a 20-foot extension ladder…)

And you know what?  I achieved the goal of covering the eyesore with something more beautiful. 

Because I was willing to try.  

What if I had failed?  Hey, I’d have had some great fail-blog fodder.  And so?  I’d have been out about $40.  Not the end of the world.

But I didn’t fail.  

It’s not a HUGE success.  But you know what?  Life’s not about only the big successes.  It’s about learning from the small successes and applying the stuff you learned to the big goals.

What’s something YOU’ve tried in life or business?  Did you succeed or fail?