As I've moved forward with this podcast, I occasionally have a moment where I think 'I am getting better at this.' Those moments are usually followed by a tremendous failure shortly thereafter.

Such an occasion came up this week, as I embarked on my next interview. I took several days to plan this time, and tested the equipement extensively. The discussion was fantastic, and everything seemed to go smoothly--and then, at the very end of the night, my file was corrupted.

I couldn't believe it at first, especially after all the precautions I had taken. There was no way that I could have lost an hour and a half of footage. Yet there it was: A garbled mess of mis-moshed audio, echos, and then random silence intermixed with some weird computerized noise. I had never heard such a bad audio recording in my life.

And it was mine.

In my moment of horror, I realized that this was a good example of how failure feels as you've exposed your passion to the world, and then are unable to deliver on your promise. It's a small example, but relevant nonetheless.

There have been times in my life where i've experienced this kind of embarrassment, and have felt it so deeply that it has caused me to run into hiding.

I can see how it could cause that kind of reaction, as we often tend to link our work with our self-value. In doing so, it feels like we are keeping ourselves accountable so we always deliver our very best at all times. However, the cost of this is that we crash to the bottom at the first sign of our failings.

It's good to strive for the highest of our potential, but to bury ourselves in shame in these instances is how we lose traction on our goals.

I started this podcast with the idea that it wouldn't just be a discussion of my successes, but of my growth--and you can't have growth without failure.

I'm not looking to pretend that this is easy, or that I have all the answers, because I'm barely getting started. In a way, that is encouraging, because the amount of ground I've covered is evidence of the fact that I truly am 'getting better at this.'

More interviews and discussions are coming, as that has always been the dream. I'm not slowing down just because of one lost night. Or two. Or three...