My Abstract Sucked

I’m going to put myself out there a little further.  I’m going to admit that I submitted an abstract for the 2012 SQL PASS Summit.  I thought that I had a long shot anyway, but if you can’t succeed if you don’t try, so I did.  I was more than a little nervous about the opportunity to speak at PASS, so doing this was COMPLETE outside of my comfort zone.

However, I’ve got nothing to worry about, my abstract was rejected.  Here’s why:

“Not Accepted – Poorly written abstract”

Now, I am not one to shy away from rejection nor do I fault (it’s my fault after all) those that made this decision.  For an event of about 170 session, I believe that there were over 650 abstracts submitted, someone had to get the axe and this time it was me.

It was a slight blow to the ego, I won’t lie.  This was a session that I’d given on a couple of occasions and no one ever told me that my abstract sucked (my words, not theirs).  I even had a group of colleagues review it for me before submitting and they thought that it was fine.  I digress, I know.   Writing is tough for me.  It really is.  That’s one of the reasons that I started this blog is to push myself further in the envelope.  However, this was a harsh reminder that I need to continue to work on my weaknesses and push forward.

In this instance, I’m reminded of the words of  Thomas Edison,

“Results? Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward….”

I’ve found one way to not write an abstract . . 9999 more ways to go! This will not stop me from continuing to push myself in both my writing and my speaking.

Don’t let failure stand in your way of anything.  Learn from your mistakes, accept any and all criticisms with class.  Be a warrior, find a way around them and push on. I’ll be re-writing this particular abstract and I am also going to ask for others to review it.

The Buck Stops Here!

Go now.  Write.  Speak.  Do whatever motivates you.  Follow your passions and don’t let failure stand in your way.

 

 

© 2012, John Morehouse. All rights reserved.

One Reply to “My Abstract Sucked”

  1. Hi John,

    Great motivational article! Indeed, Failure is an opportunity to learn new things.

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