Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning

The work you put in when no one is watching will matter far more than the work you do when the cameras are rolling.

The path to moments of greatness in your life will be paved, in part, with your spectacular failures.

And there is no wasted time in the company of something or someone that you love.

Who are you dreaming for today?

Preparation is the sign of your intention

We learn from the pages of history who we are and who we have been. We learn from our greatness and our darkness. We cannot predict the future, but studying where we've been helps us better understand where we are.

My personal feeling about the luck of the beginner is that it has a lot to do with the absence of cynicism

I will not allow one prejudiced person or one million or one hundred million to blight my life.… My inner life is mine, and I shall defend and maintain its integrity against all the powers of hell. —JAMES WELDON JOHNSON

Time is not promised. Say thank you in exactly the way you intend to when the moment arrives.

Don’t sell yourself short. You will meet people along the way who will be lining up to place limits on you. You don’t need to beat them to the punch.

spectacular failure is the secret ingredient to your ultimate success.

An artist spends their whole life trying to get back to the place where their heart was first opened up. —SOME GENIUS

But what did you do on your own behalf today? Did you do anything other than wait? Did you call anyone? Did you send an e-mail? You have great relationships with people who know your worth. Do they even know you’re out of work?” Whoa.

What are you ignoring today? What did you do to help yourself today? Who did you call? What did you read? Did you take one step toward something that makes you come alive today? If you’re willing to take one humble and meaningful step toward making a dream come true, the Universe will take two. You will be aided. You will get the help you desire and desperately need. Take the step. You’ll win or you’ll learn.

There is no risk that isn’t tied to a consequence. You assess and make sure you can live with the ones you can foresee.

It’s possible to marry a meager talent to enduring success with a strong work ethic. It is just as possible to squander a major talent with laziness and inaction.

Celebrate the fight and the proud run. Coming close can be confirmation you are on the right path.

When your dream shows up, I hope you’ll make a commitment to yourself to meet it with as much childhood joy and wonder as possible.

Lin-Manuel Miranda stalked an impulse—an inspiration—for six years. He is, among many things, a master editor as well as a monster with the pen. Lin’s a guy who can tell you about failure. He’ll write you a song about it and that song will make you weep. And once the world was introduced to his passion and craftsmanship, he’s a guy who can tell you all about success, too.

We all have patterns we repeat. Learn to recognize your patterns early. Maturation is only learning to spot these patterns and having the self-discipline to make different decisions once you do. Practice will make the process faster.

whenever you hit that natural cusp between your extended younger years and adulthood, you can expect uncertainty and apprehension with the onrush of big change.

time. There’s a cosmic correlation that happens around the age of twenty-nine known to astrologers as the Saturn Return. The slow-moving planet Saturn takes twenty-nine and a half years to complete its orbit around the sun and return to the exact same spot in the sky as it was on the day you were born. The Saturn Return is notoriously disruptive—known for upheaval and thrusting things taken for granted into question. Whether or not you believe in those influences (and I take it all with a few grains of salt) it makes sense that whenever you hit that natural cusp between your extended younger years and adulthood, you can expect uncertainty and apprehension with the onrush of big change.

You know how to succeed when the phone is ringing. But what about when the phone’s not ringing?

The biggest break is the one you will give yourself by choosing to believe in your vision and what you love and the gifts you have to offer the waiting world.

What did you do for yourself today? Did you call anyone? In what ways did you take charge of your creative life today? Did you send an e-mail to someone who might be working on something you care about? Did you read anything? Did you write anything? Did you take a class? Did you practice? What step forward did you take for yourself today in the absence of the ringing phone?

If that was to be the outcome, then so be it. Do not let your fear, or anyone else’s, rob you of the power of your yes and your no. Own them both and use either as you see fit.

The ceiling I’d built for myself was broken that night, and the only reason I ever look back is to say thank God. In my willingness to fail, I flew instead.

When you find yourself on the ground after a big leap, you dust yourself off and commit to failing smarter next time. The path to moments of greatness in your life will be paved, in part, with your spectacular failures.

I wanted to make him as ugly and beautiful and flawed and interesting as the people in the seats who’d come to witness.

I would forgo being liked by our audiences and settle instead for being understood.