Free to Fail
/Sooooo, we didn’t make it to our goal (said sheepishly). Let’s be honest, we’ve been ecstatic and upset, cried tears of joy and tears of sadness. We’ve been anxious and nervous and excited. And in the end, our Kickstarter failed. As embarrassing and vulnerable as it is to say, it failed. \
But the fact that you were there along side us in this process was an amazing encouragement. There certainly is no failure in that! Thank you for believing in us and thank you for supporting us.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
A friend shared recently the concept of being “free to fail” after a seeming failure of her own. This whole idea of being “free to fail” makes me feel such a sense of camaraderie and weightlessness. She said, “I want you to see that yes, this failed, and look, it's ok! Let's talk about our failures and learn from them. Let's be open about the fact that this stuff we are trying to do is not easy. And let's encourage each other to continue to take risks, be brave and know that even if you do fail- things are going to be ok. It's what you learn along the way that will really make you great.”
I don’t know about you, but I honestly don’t spend time thinking about other people’s failures. I feel empowered by their boldness and proud of their efforts to take risks. I’m cheering them on from all sides. I have to believe it’s the same for most of you. You are not dwelling on failures, but celebrating with people as they take steps toward something bigger.
“You only fail when you stop trying.”
We believe in Belong Magazine and will continue to be “faithful in obedience” (see first quote), which may include another Kickstarter campaign (YIKES! Can we really do this again?). It’s hard to accept that something we believe in so fully and strongly and have worked so hard for wasn’t a success in the way we envisioned it should be.
“Failures do not define us. These things that don’t succeed do not create our identity.”
Please follow along as we continue on the journey of Belong Magazine. We are very proud of the Pilot Issue (launched 09/15) and we plan to launch ISSUE 01 in mid-November, just maybe not on as large a scale as we had hoped. Both the Pilot Issue and ISSUE 01 will be available on our website www.belong-mag.com/shop in both digital and print editions. There is some really amazing content coming, so you won’t want to miss it.
THANK YOU! You can’t understand how meaningful and encouraging each individual pledge was to us. We hope, if we do it again, you’ll be there along side of us.
If you happen to be in the LA area, join us for the Belong Magazine Launch Party with Open House Creative in on Saturday, November 14 from 7-9 pm in Costa Mesa. We’d love to have you join us!
