If I could never fail?

I would learn to fly, develop superstrength, and go about the world fighting evil wherever it lurked. None of that silly "kryptonite" garbage though.

Honestly, I think I'd start my own design firm, make a million publishing my book, and retire at an early age. Less lofty than fighting crime, but probably more acheivable.

What would you do if you could not fail?

I would dream more often. I would think the unthinkable and strive for perfection.

I do believe my dreams are rather known around here, very much linked to Armin and Speak Up.

i am certain that i will not fail to die.

from that, everything follows.

Brady, this is kind of a scary question — just because it makes you realize that you could be doing something you want if you just got over the fear of doing it.

As a person I would probaly — believe it or not — want to be less shy.

As a designer I would like to take more chances, and break out of my "style".

As a cat owner, I would like to give my cats tuna every single day.

Fly, without mechanical apparatus.

Speak my mind--all of it.

Kiss more boys.

Use whatever damn font I want.

Armin - Read Number 9

My biggest fear has been going full-time freelance. I'm going to face it this year. I've found that the best way to combat fear is through education. I'm taking small steps with set goals to make the transition less stressful. I would rather go down in flames then live in a cube the rest of my life!

Do exactly what I am doing now. Everbody fails. Everybody gets kicked in the mud once in awhile. Suck it up. Get to work. Do what you want to do and stop sweating what your mom/husband/wife/partner/bosss will say. Screw 'em. They don't know what you can do. I am broke as a joke right now, but I sure like having my own small office with a few of my greatest friends. Oh yeah and the work is fun too.

Quit my job answering phones to start freelancing while I finish my degree in graphic design.

I say what Michael said.

I say what Michael said, exactly.

Well, it does make for a great soundbyte, but sincerely, how many don't actually care about what their close friends, family and significant others think of your actions? One's actions affect those around you, so I think it's "not cool" to not care — the fact that that hinders our actions is of course a bad side-effect.

There's a name for not caring about what your wife thinks:

Divorce.

Offending people is almost inevitable if you care.

Michael,

> Everbody fails.

Great. Very astute.

This discussion was specifically about what you would do if you could remove the possibility of failure, not the possibility of hard work and determination.

I would love to climb and summit Mt. Everest, not just be placed on top of it by the snap of my fingers. And, while I have that as a dream, it's one that I am not willing to die trying. There are other proverbial mountains to climb where the stakes are not so high.

> Suck it up. Get to work... Screw 'em.

Armin and Bill are correct. To say, "Screw you!" to the people (in my case, my wife and daughter) who care about you and for whom you are supposed to provide and protect is a very selfish approach to your life's pursuit. Which, quite frankly, will lead to failure.

To get back on track, I repeat that the hope for this discussion is for us to reveal a part of us as human beings -- as in Greg's wish to be Super G -- and to offer each other encouragement for those achievements from which we are unreasonably sheltering ourselves -- as in my own petrifaction over cold calling that dream client.

Can't we say that some people would like to say "screw you" to everyone if the possibility of failure was removed? Don't judge his dream! After all, we're talking about a totally unrealistic situation, so in the case where everyone submits to your will, it still could not be considered a failure, no matter how stupid that would be. For the individual person, that is the imagination of heaven ("hell is other people"); otherwise, we'd be happy with the way things are now and this conversation would be pointless.

And isn't that what we all want, really? For everyone to submit to our will? It's why we design, from the first instant as a teenager when you imagine the possibilities of persuasion.

Awesome. I may or may not be calling myself that from now on. Preceeded by a "duh-dadaduh-DAH!!!"

Wow. It seems that I got people fired up a little. Seems as though some such as Brady took an unreasonable offense to it.

First off my point, in relation to the original topic, was that the possibility of failure shouldn't keep you from what you want to go after. The question shouldn't have to be asked. That being said, I am not talking about vague impossibilities such as flying, saving the world and all that. Which is cool if that's what you were having fun with talking about. I just felt like going in another direction with my comments.

I am talking about the things that you really need to do but have been letting the fear of failure be an impenetrable roadblock to.

Armin- Of course I care about my friends, family etc. but not when it comes to my work or my career. I go by the philosophy that if it is something you believe in or is important to you, all aformentioned should back me up. As I certainly would do for them. I don't mean to say "screw 'em" to everyone. I just believe that so many people have a fear of failure that is embedded in them from outside sources. Their are always nasayers and non-believers that are going to tell you no. Tell you that you will fail. Tell you not to do something because it hasn't been done before. Some will even say it in the nicest of ways. To those people I say "Screw em!" TWICE!

Brady- "This discussion was specifically about what you would do if you could remove the possibility of failure, not the possibility of hard work and determination." - If you want to get so specific, I thought this was a design related site not the "I want the mini-van with the 6-disc changer but my my wife said no" site. Yes a little harsh but it was funny and you kind of deserved it

"Be selfish if you wish -- no one will pass judgment on your dreams and desires." - Selfish. Completely. Unashamed. My dream and desire is to be great at my work. That requires absolutely no other outside source. I have failed plenty, made plenty of mistakes and done lots of crap work. All of that has been severely reduced at the point I decided my own opinion of my work and myself was the most important.

I think what has gotten me on edge is that I have seen to often, people shirking responsibilty for their own decisions. Brady, tell me honestly, would you climb Everest if you didn't have a wife and daughter. If other peoples opinions don't drive you, then you no longer have them as your excuse for not succeeding. If I fail miserably, end up in a gutter, I want to know that is was my own damn fault.

Much more to say. And I know this was all over the place. Frantically finishing up so I can stop being a testy, selfish design obsessed freak and have a little fun.

Rock Out! and have a lovely weekend.

In closing to my overly drawn out response, where would we be if the Edisons, Einsteins, Van Goghs, etc. didn't try when others told them they would fail. (Just wanted another soundbyte for Armin)

Wonder if I am getting banned from the site. That would be interesting.

> (Just wanted another soundbyte for Armin)

The first one was much better.

Actually Michael, I really didn't think your comment was offensive or anything. My reaction was more to the fact that people (not you personally) tend to say screw other people but when it comes to actually not caring about other people, well, they end up caring. Nothing wrong with it at all, that is the way our society works.

> Armin - Read Number 9

Horror! Actually, I asked a vet once, and he said once or twice a week was fine.

I would probably play more, freed from the responsibility of having to make enough money to do what you love, pay a morgage, keep the lights on, eat, stay visable and constantly producing.

I would start a topic based design magazine that communicated directly through a mix of artists and designers from around the country, giving all of us a chance to work with eachother.

I would let people see the things I thought were mistakes.

The only problem with the idea of No Failure, is we loose an opportunity to learn. Failure is the catalyst to greatness, to elevate our ideas of what is good and what is better. What if we never knew if the intention of what we were setting out to communicate ever reached it's audience? Where would we be then? I'm afraid they wouldn't need us.

Thomas Edison said of lightbulb "I speak without exaggeration what I say I have constructed 3000 different theories in connection of the electric light, yet in only two cases did my experiment prove the truth of my theory." I'm glad failure didn't stop him.

Brady, I'm still struggling with this thread — it's like public therapy. At no cost.

I once read an article about a famous furniture designer (can't remember his name?) who said that if he doesn't fail big at least once a year, he worries. This comment has inspired me more than anything I've ever absorbed.

You must be willing to fall off the edge every now and then if you aspire to greatness in your work. If you never fail then you are just one of the cows plodding along in the field.

Michael,

> Seems as though some such as Brady took an unreasonable offense to it.

I did not find your comments offensive. I found them frustrating in that I felt you were not commenting in the spirit of the discussion. There are plenty of threads on Speak Up that tend to get so god forsaken negative no matter how positive they start out.

My intent was for participants to be introspective and focus on things they only wish they could do given their individual circumstances. Likewise, participants would provide encouragement via some form of constructive insight and experience via their own successes and failures. It is intriguing to know that Armin wants to be less shy. Who knew?

My problem with your comments in general was their inherent lack of profundity -- yes, everyone fails and yes, you should not be with those who say they love you but say you should give up your dreams (which was better said in your rebuttal). Further, to tell someone to "Suck it up. Get to work," does nothing to support -- and shows little or no respect for -- the people participating nor the discussion topic itself.

> First off my point, in relation to the original topic, was that the possibility of failure shouldn't keep you from what you want to go after. The question shouldn't have to be asked.

That is the whole point of asking the question! If you stop, take time and think about the challenges before you -- and I am speaking of the significant goals -- a majority of them are tasks "from which we are unreasonably sheltering ourselves."

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." -- Robert Kennedy

We tend to get so bogged down in our work lives that we do not take time to step back and look at those things we are avoiding because they are outside of our own environmental scope. To tell some one to suck it up does not provide a means for others to be encouraged to take risks, to learn and to improve.

A simple example -- I coach Little League Baseball (9 - 12 years old) in the Spring and Fall. Many of my players wish they could be a better hitter or some would say a better infielder. It is not an option for me to say, "Suck it up and swing the bat," because that will not help them become a better hitter. I remind them that they will make mistakes, but I do what I can to correct their mistakes and help them succeed.

> I thought this was a design related site not the "I want the mini-van with the 6-disc changer but my my wife said no" site. Yes a little harsh but it was funny and you kind of deserved it.

Not sure why I deserved it and I'm not so sure what "it" is that I deserved.

Yes, Speak Up is devoted to design, but there are discussions from time to time devoted to our pets, what we are thankful for, the music we listen to, what we do on the weekend, and more that are not at all directly related to design.

My discussion topic was originally driven by what we would do as designers, but I decided to open it to more than that because I thought it would give us an opportunity to find out more about each other than how much we can gripe, grovel and bitch about our profession.

> Wonder if I am getting banned from the site. That would be interesting.

Banned? Up to Armin -- but I don’t think so. Such an action would hardly be democratic.

Michael, in the end, I hope you understand my reaction to your comments. If you would like to continue discussing the merits of our arguments concerning your original post then let's do so offline and keep the discussion here geared toward it's intent.

Now, let's suck it up and get back to the discussion!

Michael,

What do you do for a career?

Yes I agree with you, everyone fails.

Caroline