loving art, science and creative kids

Floating in Space.

Am I successful in  portraying a sense of wonder and mystery in outer space with this painting?  Is that enough, or is it only successful if someone purchases it?

 
Success Is Finding a Reason to Move Forward

How do you measure success?  Winston Churchill is thought to have said, “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm,” and that “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” These quotes capture an important truth: success can depend less on our achievements than on our willingness to keep going.Resilience and mindset are at the heart of these messages. Rather than an uninterrupted string of victories., success is the ability to recover from setbacks, learn from mistakes, and find the determination to try again. Ongoing enthusiasm bridges the gap between failure and eventual achievement.

Many of the goals I achieved were met simply because I persisted,  pursuing my dream despite adversity and the nay sayers encouraging me to stop. Most of those were well-meaning friends and family concerned that I would fail, lose money, or become distraught. Instead of listening to them, I learned how to deal with failure.

The inability to cope with failure is an obstacle that keeps many people from trying. From childhood, we're taught to avoid failure and we rarely analyze the causes and discuss it openly, fearing embarrassment or humiliation. It's easier to hide our disappointments and not try than admit that something we tried didn't work.

I think that approach is misguided and a sad way to go through life. Failure happens to all of us. Why push it into our subconscious and pretend it never happened? Our failures are stepping stones that can teach us lessons. The challenge is to enjoy the process, use what we learned and  move forward.

A famous Thomas Edison quote says, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Whether or not those were his exact words, his experimental approach to invention illustrates the point. He conducted thousands of experiments and worked on many inventions before developing a commercially practical incandescent lighting system. What others might have considered wasted effort, he treated as part of the process.

People sometimes stop trying because they're exhausted or discouraged, not necessarily because their goal is out of reach.  When the going gets tough it’s time to double down or decide if your goal needs to be altered. 

Building my first museum was a minefield of rejection, setbacks, and failed attempts. At times, I wondered whether it would ever succeed, especially given Lansing’s political climate at the time. But circumstances change. Politicians change. People gradually begin to understand what I was trying to accomplish, and some become my strongest supporters. That doesn't mean the road got easier. As the museum developed, new obstacles appeared involving permits, financing, and staffing. Just when one problem seemed resolved, another emerged. I remember when a winter storm deposited so much snow, the roof collapsed.

What kept me going were the small victories: the smiles on children's faces when they experienced an “aha!” moment while using one of our hands-on exhibits, and the encouragement of friends who volunteered their time. Those moments made the struggle worthwhile. Eventually, I stopped dwelling on the months when my efforts seemed to accomplish nothing. What I loved most about museum work was making displays that made visitors think. Yet, I soon realized that developing interactive exhibits wasn't the hardest part. It was persuading the public to embrace the idea of a hands-on science museum and getting them to support it.

Years later, I encountered a similar challenge when I began a writing career after retirement. People sometimes asked, “Why bother trying to get published? Write for your own enjoyment. Sure, improve your writing if you like, but don't worry if your books don't sell.” The more I heard this advice, the more determined I became to ignore it. I wasn't writing simply to keep busy and improve my writing skills, yet that was important. I had something to say about the right to clean air, water, and safe food,  and wanted people to look at these human rights with fresh eyes.

Environmental concerns are easy to ignore when they compete with the demands of everyday life. Still, I believe our planet needs us to become better caretakers. I’ve read dozens of nonfiction books filled with facts and figures about the problems the earth faces. But facts alone don't necessarily change minds. The question in my mind that keeps me going is much the same as it was when I started a museum: How do I reach people who aren't already interested in the environment or science and persuade them to pay attention?

That’s a puzzle that continues to challenge me. I've learned a great deal about climate change and continue to hone my writing skills, but marketing still drives me crazy. Some independent authors spend tens of thousands of dollars promoting their books. I don't have that kind of money, so I keep looking for other ways to reach readers.

Am I a successful writer? I've won national and international awards, yet I'm still largely unknown. I hear from plenty of people who promise to make my books famous, provided I hire them. Unfortunately, many of these offers come from people more interested in my money than what I'm writing.

I continue to improve my craft and enjoy speaking to reading clubs. But I'll admit that I no longer have the enthusiasm for marketing that I once did. I want to write books that make people think, not spend my days trying to convince them to buy those books. If I don't overcome that reluctance, I can't succeed—or can I? If hundreds of people are enlightened by what they read, is that enough to say I’m successful? Do I need thousands?

That's my story. What's yours?

What have you tried to accomplish that required perseverance in the face of repeated setbacks? Did you pursue a sport when you were younger, only to give up when progress became difficult? Did you start a career believing you would reach the top of the organization, then abandon that ambition halfway through because the sacrifices seemed too great? Or perhaps you pursued a personal dream that others didn't understand.

Did persistence pay off in ways you never anticipated? During the process did your goals change? Did you discover that a different direction made more sense? Perseverance doesn't mean stubbornly pursuing every ambition forever. Sometimes success means recognizing that the path you were on isn’t viable and it’s time to change course.

So what is success? Thomas Edison became a celebrated inventor and businessman whose work helped transform modern life. Winston Churchill, after a long and often turbulent political career, became Britain's wartime prime minister and won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his historical and biographical writing. Their achievements were monumental. Both men left lasting marks on the world.

Most of us will never receive that level of recognition. We may never become famous, change the course of history, or see our names celebrated in books. But we still set goals, overcome obstacles, learn new skills, and find ways to contribute to the world around us. Those pursuits give meaning to our days. Small victories bring satisfaction. The people we meet on the way, the ideas we share, those we help, and the challenges we overcome can provide more satisfaction than public recognition.

My advice? Don't spend too much time worrying about whether the world considers you successful. Decide what matters to you, pursue it with determination, and take pleasure in the progress you make along the way. Perhaps success isn't reaching a final destination. Perhaps it's having a reason to keep moving forward.

I look forward to your comments below.

Art is always for sale through my web site. Interested in Floating in Space?   Go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6696813/floating-in-space#/

References:

Wie.J. (2026). Many Of Life’s Failures Are People Who Did Not Realize How Close They Were to Success When They Gave Up – Thomas A. Edison. DUE. Retrieved from