Fall Forward

A few nights ago I was watching David Letterman as I always do to decompress and laugh out loud before heading to bed. I love to laugh out loud but that's another blog. Anyway, Denzel Washington was on the show as a guest and it was typical banter between the sarcastic host and the cool laid back Washington when Dave brought up that Denzel had just given a commencement speech. Denzel talked about how nervous he was and how he struggled to get thru it. He also talked about something that he lives by. "Falling Forward". How it never made sense to him that we should have something to fall back on. I have not been able to get this out of my mind since. It's my story. I never wanted to do anything other than be in the entertainment business. The drums were my driving force. They allowed me to think like no other in my family or my hometown. They were my ticket out. I never thought about what I would do if playing music didn't work out. Never! My dad and brother always said I could come work for them if things didn't work out and to be honest with you things didn't work out a lot. But I never thought about going back. And I never will. If things didn't work out I always found a way back in. I love what I do and maybe that's why.
Denzel said you should identify your particular gifts and to persevere in honing them no matter what.

No Matter What!

He said, “I never understood that concept…I don’t want to fall back on anything except my faith. If I’m going to fall, I want to fall forward.” You will fail,” he said. “Accept it. You will lose. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something. So you got to get out there and give it your all." I should know. In the music business, you fail all the time. If you don’t fail, you’re not even trying. 
"Taking risks, he said, is about being open to life, to people, to foreign ideas and new frontiers." He insisted that while that might be frightening at first, “it will also be rewarding. Because the chances you take, the people you meet, the people you love, and the faith that you have, that’s what’s going to define you.”
In the end, he charged the graduating class with a universally inspiring mission: “Never be discouraged. Never hold back. Give it everything you’ve got. And when you fall, fall forward.”