We’ve all felt like a failure from time to time. I mean life does not always work out the way we thought it would. I have to remind myself in those moments that failure is part of the plan to a better journey. What? Yeah…I just said that. Failure hurts. it feels so frustrating doesn’t it? It feels like a waste of time,effort and frequently resources that were slim to begin with. Interestingly, failure is frequently just a turn in the road to find a better way. A few years ago, I was approached by a management company to help grow my career as an independent artist. I was so excited! Finally, I was going to have someone helping me. Wearing all the hats in any business can be overwhelming. This was such a good thing…or so I thought! After 8 months, things were not working out so well. The booking agent this company had hired was promising tours but not actually booking dates for me and he was building his own company on the side. (can you say conflict of interest?) The photographer hired delivered less than stellar photos and the website designer locked me out of my current web site and never built one for me. Lots of headaches. Then….there was a big announcement that my management company was working with a group to put me on a national tour. These were industry vets who had worked with all the major labels in town. Finally something! So exciting! The big day for the national tour meeting arrived. My husband and I went into the meeting room with the tour company and the spokesperson for the management company said, ” Okay, before we get started, we need to announce that we are no longer going to manage any artists.”  I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. What? I thought we were meeting to discuss a national tour roll out? Then they basically introduced us to each other and said we could work out details of working together for a national tour amongst ourselves. The tour company was just as surprised as I was. We exchanged pleasantries as we all stood reeling from the info-bomb that was dropped into our laps. We moved on to a professional conversation about what a tour might look like and they would email me a calendar roll -out and the fee schedule. Then we left. What a disappointment. I felt like such a failure.  Why hadn’t I seen this coming?  There was lots of frustration but I had been trying to be gracious because they were a start up, independent company just like me. As a solo independent artist, I knew I was not going to be able to afford the fees associated with a National tour company. I quickly had to regroup and had the task of getting back my intellectual property  as well as some other legal matters. What a nightmare.

And yet….

It was in the following weeks and months that I realized how much strength I truly had. I had acquired a lot  of knowledge over the years as an Independent Recording Artist and wearing all the hats! I then hired someone to re-build my artist website and I was up and running again. It wasn’t easy and it took some time. But things that are worthwhile never see to come easily.  I managed to rebuild the momentum I  lost in that year with the management company, write songs for a new album and all while maintaining my roles as wife and mom too. It is through the struggle a butterfly has in leaving the cocoon that it gains strength in its wings to fly. I wrote a song about that. It’s called Fly. You can listen to it here. Now I understand even more fully that lesson. Is there an area of your life or business that you are struggling with or feeling like a failure right now?  What would happen if you viewed it as a turn in your road to success instead of a failure? What have you learned? Comment below. I’d love to encourage you in your journey to Fly……