But You Didn’t!



I could have written a better book than that.


You’re right, but you didn’t.



I could have made a better movie than that.


Right, again, but you didn’t.



My cousin sings better than he.


Yes, but he only sings for the family.

Reasons you/I didn’t:




  • Didn’t make the time.



  • Didn’t have or fake the confidence.



  • Didn’t want to hear the word NO so prevented hearing a YES.



  • Thought you’d get to it one day and you didn’t (though you might still have some time).



  • Listened to the naysayers.



  • Kept trying to go through the front door instead of finding another door or window to get into.



  • Were afraid of rejection.*



  • Were afraid of success (didn’t think you could handle the attention or adulation).



  • Didn’t invest in your own project what you invested in clothes, getting your hair done, trips, liquor, restaurants, and other fleeting pleasures.



  • Told yourself no.



  • Thought a particular no was a forever no.



  • Believed the hype…smoked the pipe.



Remember:



Nothing succeeds but a try.


No one deserves it more than you (or less than you).


Effort + a little bit of talent + a smidgen of luck trumps lots of talent and no effort.



If not now, when?


 


Related:


*Handling Rejection


Don’t Say No to Yourself


About Candelaria Silva

Candelaria Silva-Collins is a marketing, community outreach and programming consultant; writer; and trainer/facilitator who lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She has designed and facilitated workshops on a wide variety of topics including communication, facilitation, job search skills, team building, and parenting issues. She currently coordinates the Community Membership Program of the Huntington Theatre Company. Her work as Director of ACT Roxbury was profiled in several publications, including The Creative Communities Builders Handbook. Candelaria’s children’s stories, short stories, essays and reviews have been published in local and national publications and she is an active blogger. Her publications include the booklets, Handling Rejection; Pushing through Shyness: Networking Tips when You’re Shy, Slow to Warm Up or Just don’t Feel you Belong; and Real Questions about Sex & Relationships for Teens: A Discussion Guide for Parents. She has served on the boards of Goddard College, Wheelock Family Theatre, Boston Foundation for Architecture, and Discover Roxbury. She is currently Chair, Designators of the Henderson Foundation.

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