From Snot Bubbles to Victory.

Sara Rotman
Aug 31, 2018 · 3 min read

About three quarters of the way to the bottom of a staggeringly long slide through an elaborate series of crushing professional failures, my husband stepped in to gallantly arrest my fall. Offering me salvation through a maddeningly simple, bumper sticker worthy nugget of wisdom. Working my way into a seductive pool of sorrow with a litany of self recrimination and doubt, useless mug of coffee in hand, I uttered the dreaded, “God, I’m such a failure,” knowing it not to be true but trying to gain a moment of relief from the relentless battle that discipline dictated I endure. Teetering on the edge of my true self and the siren song of self-indulgent pity.

He was having none of it, “You know who fails?”

I remained silent as a snot bubble expanded immediate and impressive out of my left nostril, then popped with a splatter into my coffee and across my upper lip. Ignoring the shiny slicker of boogers on my face, I slowly shook my head and tilted it ever so slightly away from him. As much to not have to hear what came next as to indicate I didn’t know the answer. The words forming in my mind, “Me, I’m failing…” I am now grateful to have been stopped mid thought by his inevitable punch line, “Successful people.”

Shit. Yes. Exhausting. True. And inspirational-exactly as it was supposed to be.

He abruptly left, quickly returning with a ragged length of toilet paper torn from the roll in the guest bathroom, handing it to me, “you’ve got snot all over the place,” then, “we’ll be alright love, just gotta’ keep going.”

Also true.

And so I did. And it sucked. A lot. But even in that small moment of strength, given to me by an outside force, someone with the presence of mind to keep me from my worst tendencies, I was able to achieve something. I got the snot off my face. I didn’t have to add the humiliation of a child like tantrum to my misery. I washed my face and went back to work. Tired, but resolved. It was progress, a small step on the road to back. Wherever that may take me. A little victory to add to the stockpile of hope propelling me on the next step of my journey. And that’s really the lesson; find the victories along the way. String enough of them together and you’re up the mountain, on your way, back in business. Thriving. Simple. Maddening. Miraculous. True.

Failure is the one thing all successful people have in common. It’s the failures that make us better. Yes, they suck. Yes they can crush your soul, finances, relationships and ego. Make you question everything you thought you knew, or who you are. The really big ones do anyway. Plan on that, too. If failure is easy for you, you likely won’t be so successful. But as tennis great, Billy Jean King, said so succinctly, “champions hate to fail more than they love to win.” Amen sister, failures are your most powerful motivational tool. And if you can put your ego aside long enough to look at them with disdain and in earnest, they provide huge insights into what to do next. They can become your very best friends. After all, failure is just success in training.

Sara Rotman

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I am an entrepreneur, designer, writer, cook, farmer, wife, mentor, teacher, student and a mother of dragons (Rottweilers to be specific).