Too often it seems we tend to forget the past when we move on to something new.  Big mistake.

Yesterday I wrote a post at PureBlogging titled “Throwing the Baby Out with the Bath Water.”  The main gist was that we tend to abandon things that have worked in the past because something new comes along, or because some comment on another blog said that it doesn’t work any more.  Most of the time it’s all a bunch of rubbish.  Just because something new comes along, it does not negate the value of older things.

The same is true of mistakes and failures from our past.  There is a tendency to move past a failure and act as if the experience was worthless.  Mistakes are repeated and things that we should have learned are ignored.  The good is abandoned along with the bad, and we have to re-invent the wheel with every new effort.  An example of this is my experience with the Thirty Day Challenge.

According to the premise of the challenge (earn $10 on a new site within 30 days), I failed.  I did earn over $50, but it took me 45 days.  I don’t consider the experience a failure.  It took me back to the basics of what it takes to get your site noticed, and how to attract people to your site.  It covered everything from initial set-up, to writing good solid content, to basic SEO techniques.  That foundation opened a whole new area of SEO and site building that I wouldn’t have completely understood before.

It works in all areas of my life.  My experiences as a business manager, and a father, and a soccer coach, and my work in community theater, have all contributed to my work as a writer.  I draw on those past experiences for examples, or to make connections for my readers.  It also contributes to a broad understanding accross a wide spectrum that makes it easier to understand various subjects when doing research.

Let’s face it, everything I touch is not a success.  That’s true for all of us. (If you are the exception, send me a not.  I’d love to meet you.)   Those mistakes and failures are a part of who I am.  Running away from them is running away from some valuable lessons.

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