But my lesson is this: I don't give a shit.
Okay?
You cannot let a fear of failure, or a fear of comparison, or a fear of judgement stop you from doing what's going to make you great.
You cannot succeed without this risk of failure.
You cannot have a voice without the risk of criticism and you cannot love without the risk of loss.
You must go out and you must take these risks.
And people will tell you to do what makes you happy, but a lot of this has been hard work, and I'm not always happy.
And I don't think you should do just what makes you happy; I think you should do what makes you great.
Do what's uncomfortable, and scary, and hard, but pays off in the long run.
Be willing to fail.
Let yourself fail.
Fail in the way and the place where you would want to fail.
Fail, pick yourself up and fail again.
Because without this struggle, what is your success anyway?
Look the best we know we have one life.
In it, you have to trust your own voice, your own ideas, your honesty, your vulnerability, and through this you will find your way.
You do not have to be fearless, just don't let fear stop you.
Live like this as best you can, and I guarantee you will look back on a life well lived.