ON QUITTING

I got a text from a friend last night. "This week has been crazy. I feel like quitting everything." Haven't we all been there? If you don't raise your hand, you're wrong. ;) 

I hadn't planned on sharing my story today but that text got me thinking. Everyone feels like quitting at one time or another, everyone gets discouraged, and everyone wonders where their life is going. It's a part of success. Two years ago, I met my now best friend Ashley. We had very similar dreams and goals in life and a few months into our friendship, we had an idea. We wanted to start a non-profit organization that raised awareness of celiac disease, we called it C4. We had the first steps laid out, we made a promo video for the organization, got involved in social media, and were ready to move forward. Except we didn't.

We literally waited for three months, trying to figure out what Step 2 was. We asked people for their ideas, kept getting involved in social media, even went to a "Celiac Walk." Nothing. Happened. I personally was discouraged. It had seemed like this was everything we had ever wanted! Why wasn't it working? Why was every email coming up empty? Why was our progress being stopped by an invisible wall? I remember saying to her, "We're stuck on Step 1. We can't move our feet up to Step 2. It's just not there." 

Well long story short, we weren't supposed to be doing C4. We realized it wasn't working for a reason. Now, a year later, I'm finally seeing why it didn't work out and why exactly God stopped us in our tracks. I went on to start teaching photography workshops, and now I'm writing a book! Ashley is in cosmetology school pursuing her dream of being a hair + makeup stylist. You might say, "You wasted all that time on something that didn't even work!" Did we waste our time? I've been thinking about that. Because of C4, we know what we are not supposed to be doing. We are better friends because we did it together. We learned about relating to people, using social media, and marketing yourself. 

So moral of the story? When you feel like quitting, or something isn't working, don't give up. There is a reason and you WILL succeed in what you are supposed to succeed in. If you throw in the towel, you'll never know what could have happened. There's a good quote that ties this up. "Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use." (Earl Nightingale) 

Do you have any "I succeeded because I 'failed'" stories? If so, share them in the comments. :)