Motivation logo

"Dream as though you've never failed."

a quote by Jonathan Howard

By Katie DawnPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
Like
"Dream as though you've never failed."
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

When I was in Grade 9, I took Leadership class. Our middle school only offered it for Grade 9s, as we were the oldest students in the school. We got to help with school assemblies, and other events (like Grade 6 Orientation Day, which was so fun!).

We were also given special opportunities. For example, we visited a local elementary school one day when they were hosting a man who was running across Canada promoting Autism awareness. This man was Jonathan Howard, and to be honest I don't remember much from that day (like how far he ran or what got him started) ... but I've hung onto this one thing he said:

"Dream as though you've never failed."

That year, I wrote this quote in everyone's yearbook, whoever asked me to sign. I remember one guy who saw it in a negative light -- "Are you saying I'm a failure?" ... I had to explain to him, NO, that's not what the quote means. (And, since we were 15 at the time and I know not everyone at that age is into personal growth, unsurprising he didn't really listen to my explanation; he asked the question but then his brain just kind of shut down after that ... I hope you reading this will take the moment to keep going and read on with an open mind.)

At first, I thought the words meant to ignore your failings and just keep dreaming. Over time, as I've grown, I've been able to go deeper with what the message is actually trying to convey. We all fail, we all make mistakes, and that is okay -- that's how we learn! We can't avoid errors, but we can control how we react to them. So it's not about ignoring the failings; it's about not letting our failings keep us from following our dreams.

I used the quote for my Grade 12 yearbook as well. All the graduating students got to have a quote typed beside their photo. Some were really clever ... like the three guys who used Lord of the Rings quotes ("You have my sword ...", "... and my bow ...", "... and my axe."), making sure the first was used for the guy who came first in the yearbook alphabetically. (I'll be honest, I don't remember which guys they were, and this might've even been in a completely different yearbook ... but my point is, this is a memorable yearbook idea!) A lot of students, however, used generic or cliché quotes ... or maybe those students didn't even submit a quote, having someone randomly put one in for them.

I knew I didn't want to use a quote everyone had likely heard. I wanted to use Jonathan Howard's words. I wanted them to stop and think about them for a moment when they read them. I also wanted to use a quote that would always stay with me -- and I just knew, deep down, that these words would stick with me forever.

And here we are, over a decade later. Still going strong.

I've been trying to write a book for half my life. Many books, in fact. (I've had a lot of ideas!) I love to write, I know I'm a great writer (especially when I try) ... but I lacked confidence for so long, and I've given up on my writing time and again. BUT, I always come back to it, because I remind myself to dream as though I've never failed", to dream as though I didn't give up on dozens of ideas, to pick myself up and try again with a new idea (or come back to a very old one, reworking it if I feel called to do so).

No one knows who Jonathan Howard is -- at least no one I've ever talked to -- and therefore, these words are unknown to most people. So if you're reading this, take a moment to let the quote sink in. Is there a dream you gave up on (recently or awhile ago) because you "failed", because something happened and you let it stop you? Pick yourself back up; keep your dream alive!

quotes
Like

About the Creator

Katie Dawn

I am a young woman from Canada

I am an Aquarius sun, Taurus moon, Capricorn rising

I am a reader, writer, lover of words

I am a multi-passionate individual

I am studying to become a Life and Creativity Coach

I am an open book

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.