[featured-image single-newwindow=”false” id=”130728-Start” title=”Scrabble Start”]Image via Flickr by jakeandlindsay[/featured-image]

At the beginning of the month I laid out a challenge for myself, to write a blog post a day. And like most challenges, resolutions, or goals, things started off like gangbusters! But then the middle of the month arrived which included about 10 days of travel.  I knew I should get at least a few of my posts written ahead of time and scheduled, but I just didn’t allocate enough time.

Certain activities had to be done so that I could fulfill my obligations of the trip. Other items on the task list were easier to do or seemed to have a higher priority. So I decided that I would just try and post while I was on the road. In the end that resulted in a big fail, but a failure can be a great learning experience if you are willing to consider it as such.

In my life I have learned that ultimate success comes not from lack of failures, but from learning from failures and missed marks and then giving it another go, completely aware that I may fall short yet again. Rarely does success happen with the first try. The difference is, successful people don’t dwell on the failures; they learn from them and then move on.

Image via Flickr by Arenamontanus

Image via Flickr by Arenamontanus

Thomas Edison, by most people’s standards, would be considered to be a successful inventor. His success, however did not come without challenges. A few of my favorite quotes attributed to Thomas Edison are:

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.

So I take some solace in his words, knowing that I have the potential to succeed if I don’t just give up. And what lessons did I learn during this first trip that I can apply to my next trip, which is just a few weeks away?

  1. If you are going to blog while traveling, it is imperative to have an internet connection.  If you are not sure, check first — don’t assume.
  2. Days working on the road are really busy days. It is difficult to find enough quiet time to compose a well-crafted post. So don’t try to just squeeze it in; instead, plan for it.
  3. When utilizing new tools (in this case a pad in lieu of a laptop), make sure you can do everything you want with the tools at hand.  Questions are more easily answered in the comfort of your office.
  4. Planning posts before travel is a good idea, but you need to allocate plenty of time to get the job done. And trying to do them all at once (if we are talking about more than a few) is just craziness. Spread it out over several days to make it more manageable.

So does this mean I will have success from this point on? I would like to think so, but history would say I probably have a few more lessons to learn along the way.  But I do know that success won’t come if I give up, so instead I will try again.  And I hope you will continue along with me as I try, “just one more time,” and continue in my journey of learning from failures.