Define Failure for Yourself

It’s #FailureFriday! We’re dedicating the end of the week to reframing our thoughts on failure.

Earlier this week, we had an awesome event in Atlanta. During the discussion, as it often happens when talking about living in the grey, the subject of failure came up.

One of our panelists, Dominique Love, posed the question, “What is failing?” She went on to make her point by saying that you have to define what failure is for yourself. Don’t default to someone else’s definition.

Dominique gave a great example by saying after the first year of the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival she was “more in debt than I thought I could be in 5 lifetimes.” But she didn’t consider it a failure.

How could she? She had acted on her dream and created a celebration of food by bringing together amazing chefs and 6,000 foodies. She had reached her goal of showcasing the rich food and beverage traditions of the South in a very meaningful and authentic way. Yes there were things yet to be figured out (like how to make a profit), but it certainly couldn’t be labeled a failure. And because she didn’t consider it such, Dominique and her team trucked on and are now gearing up for the 4th year of the festival.

Later on in the evening, Dominique said she considers herself ‘risk ignorant.’ She explained that as long as she’s investing in herself, there’s no risk. We love that confidence and fearlessness! No wonder she’s created a super grey life for herself.

Spend some time this weekend to think about how you define failure. Share your new definitions with us below in the comments!