Fail miserably

Look at the lives of any great man…

And you’ll see something strange.

The more glorious the success, the more miserable the failures.

Take the youngest president of the United States in history, Theodore Roosevelt.

In his twenties, Roosevelt goes into politics…

And makes a name for himself by standing up against corrupt politicians and financial tycoon Jay Gould. Despite his squeaky voice, he’s loved by the people of New York as the guy who does the right thing.

But after a few years, he reaches an impasse:

His party wanted to nominate a presidential candidate known for corruption.

Fail to back the candidate, and he’d be kicked out of the party and lose all hopes of political success. But back the candidate, and he’d lose face with the people who voted for him.

Young Roosevelt chooses to back the candidate, spelling the end of his political career.

Destroyed, he takes his money, heads to the Wild West, and invests in cattle. He forgets about politics, and instead becomes a vigilante cowboy - sleeping under the stars, herding cattle, and apprehending villains.

When he returns to politics years later, he’s no longer the squeaky-voiced assemblyman that nobody took seriously.

Instead, he returns broad-chested, with a booming voice that could drive cattle.

At the end of his life, Roosevelt said of those times, that earned him the nickname “The Rough Rider”, that he’d never have become president without them.

But interestingly, he only went through those times because he failed miserably in the first place.

As Roosevelt, better to be the Man in the Arena…

“who at best knows the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Go out there and fail miserably, Bucko.

You never know.

You might just get what you want in the process.