No Limit

I was talking to a woman whose young daughter - I don't even think she's 10 yet - was in a golf tournament for kids. She did not win. Her mother said she plans to move on from this failure and do better next time.

I look to praise and support kids. I said she can't look at this as failure, that it's not always a setback to lose, and the mother said that was right, just being there was a success. 

As so often happens, that thought led me to thinking about song lyrics: specifically, Bob Dylan's words to "Love Minus Zero / No Limit" - -

Some speak of the future,

My love she speaks softly,
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no success at all.

As often, there's a lot to ponder there. One good thing about being my old  age is that I have had experience at success and failure. I've told many a younger person that they won't know what good love is until they've had bad love, and the same goes for friendships and jobs. And cars, and pizzas, while I'm thinking of it.

I just don't think it's necessarily a failure not to succeed. I know that puts me in opposition to great sages such as Vince Lombardi, who said, "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." 

I'll go with Zig Ziglar, who said, "Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is."