Failure isn’t all negative, it’s more a process of wrong choices that help you to find out what’s going to work. Sometimes they’re small, others are huge but this is how you learn.

As a designer, you have days where nothing you create looks good. You don’t stop being a designer because your creative juice ran out. It’s something you have to get through, then move on. Failure is the same way. When you fall down, you have to get up and brush yourself off and continue to your goal. I don’t think any of us would have learned to ride a bike if we would have given up after that first spill.

Even if you make 10 attempts at getting it right and fail at 9 of them, you still got it right in the end. Sure it took you 9 tries but you got back up and tried again every time. You’re going to make many mistakes along the way. Sure it might not work out the first time but sooner or later the odds are going to turn and you’ll hit that jackpot.

I find myself making quick decisions most of the time. If it’s about a project, what to eat for dinner or where I should take a vacation. Do I regret my choices? Most of the time no; I always trust my initial gut reaction. I make these gut calls because spending time agonizing over the pros and cons for everything can be needlessly time consuming and tedious. There are moments when you need to make those long drawn out decisions that effect your life and your families life but most of the time, especially when it’s work related, they are small simple choices to make. So I say go with your gut and deal with it. The solution to a problem often comes in a flash, almost like a premonition. The key to success is acting on your instincts. I bet even if you make the wrong decision you can fix it in less time then if you would have spent all that time worrying about which way to go.

I know in some instances this might frustrate others. And if you are one of these people you have to know that I still thought about my decision, no matter how fast I came to the conclusion. It might have been something I’ve been thinking about on the side for awhile and it just looks like its a gut reaction. Even if I did make the wrong choice, its sometimes those wrong choices that can bring you to the right place.

Try it, make a choice from your gut, no matter how small. Even if its just if you are going to have a side salad or fries with your lunch. Make the choice and live with it. Learn to trust your decision-making ability. Ultimately, your success is dependent on the actions you take. So go with your gut and take action now.

There was a great quote from Ron Swanson on the latest episode of Parks and Recreation that really struck a cord with me. “Never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing.” That was pretty much the precise reason I left Daily Planet Productions ltd. and went off on my own to build LooseKeys. I tried for almost a year to work my “day job” and build a business on the side. At some point I began to notice my work and quality slipping on both sides. I had to make the choice as to which one I wanted to “whole ass”. The choice for me was hard but pretty clear, I needed to go off on my own and build LooseKeys. If you’re not 100% behind what you’re doing then you’ll never know what it can be or become. Building slow and on the side seems great but at some point you have to make the choice. You just can’t do both and expect there not to be any mistakes, you’re kidding yourself. Make a choice and decide what your going to “whole-ass”.