I was a river guide in Moab, Utah, when I was younger, and I was taught how to run rivers by a 15-year-old kid. His father ran the river company I worked for, and he didn't trust me when I first joined. I was young, I was dumb, and he hired me as a favor to my mom. He would send his son and me down the river with other trips, not carrying anything important, and certainly no customers. We would do this 2 or three times a week, and the son would watch me row and coach me. When the son finally felt I was ok enough, the father came on a trip and told me one thing: "don't get me wet." Now, this was a tough section of river, and I was young, dumb, and only slightly more trained up than I had been a few months before. We ran the river that day, and I became a full-fledged river guide that same summer, even though I am sure he got wet. The next summer, I became a trip leader with much more responsibility and ran the biggest rivers in the Western United States over the next 5 years. After he hired me full-time, he told me, " It's not the flip that counts, it's the recovery". That quote has stuck with me through the years, and I have applied it to almost every aspect of my life. We try, and we fail. The trick is not to let a failure define you or your experience. In fact, think of any successful person you have ever looked up to and research their story. I bet they tried and failed many, many times before they became that pro athlete, rock star, or corporate mogul. You WILL flip your boat. You WILL lose some passengers along the way. They may even be very nervous to get back on that boat with you. But, what you learn from that experience will harden you like steel, sharpen you like a knife, and focus you like a telescope on the dream that you are chasing... As long as you let it.

Hey all! Please welcome @Sophie Reyer and @Scott Smith to the Community! Can't wait to hear their insights!