“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”   — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wide eyed dreamers make for the most gullible entrepreneurs. Starry Eyed. Brimming with purpose. Choosing to believe that a special light is shining down on us.

When I first touched down at Vancouver International Airport in March of 2013 – after our successful pilot program for the Fresh Chapter Alliance Foundation in India – I figured the hard part was behind me. Taking a dream (and now a proven concept) and transforming it into a sustainable foundation was simple, wasn’t it? I had the heart, the idea, the testimonials. I didn’t know I was in dangerous territory. With an abundance of recruitment experience and absolutely no idea how the non profit world worked, I couldn’t tell a solid strategy from a unicorn (i.e. an idea or person who sells you the pot of gold at the end of an elusive rainbow). Turns out I spent almost a year chasing shiny ideas and people filled with promise.

Ideas like If I could just get to 1 million followers on Twitter, I could get sponsorship. Or, if I could just pull together the perfect logic model framework, funders would flock to me, begging to offer thousands of dollars in donations.

I was green. A child lost in the forest. Following trails of breadcrumbs in every direction.

Even though we pulled together a 2-day pilot program in Los Angeles and brought our second group of survivors on a life-changing trip to India, my personal finances, my sanity, and my health took a beating. I knew I couldn’t sustain the lack of home and income but I’d come to far to give up. When my flight landed in March of 2014, a new resolve landed with me. Every ounce of energy I had would be focused on making the dream sustainable.

The good news? With any new venture, business, or dream, if you work hard enough and revise and refine your strategy along the way, you eventually cross a threshold where the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together. Where you move from blissfully unaware of what you don’t know to realizing how much you still have to learn.

You may not yet have all of the answers, but you know enough to spot a unicorn and call it out when you see it. You know when to smile politely and back away before you get blinded by the allure of instant (and always elusive) success. You choose to close some windows so you can focus on walking through the right doors. You invest your energy on learning what has a track record of actually working and you build the right team of intelligent, dedicated, and innovative volunteers and mentors to lay the bricks of the foundation with you.

For My Fellow Dreamers

If you’re thinking about your fresh chapter but you’re feeling paralyzed by the risk of failure, here is what I’ve learned:

You are going to fail. Unexpectedly and repeatedly. It is the only way you grow. Trust that each setback is teaching you something. Trust that you have the heart, the passion, and the intelligence to keep going. Finally, trust that each no is bringing you closer to a massive yes.

So go on…Fail. Cry. Scream. And then pick up yourself up and remember why you had the dream in the first place.

Now, it’s your turn. I’d love to hear from you. How have your failures helped you succeed? Please share your comments by joining the conversation below.

Updates on the Fresh Chapter Alliance Foundation

With the support of our donors, we have successfully completed two International Programs in New Delhi, India as well as piloted a 2-day North American program in Los Angeles. In 2015, we plan to expand our North American programming to also include San Francisco and New York as well as offer three* international programs:

• New Delhi, India (March 2015)
• Dharmsala, India (May 2015)
• Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (Fall 2015)

Our energy is 100% focused on getting the funds we need to offer six programs next year. If you want to get involved by making a donation, please visit us here: Fresh Chapter Alliance Foundation.  Every dollar matters and will help us empower patients and survivors to create a ripple of good around the globe.

If you are a patient or survivor hoping to participate, please make sure you’re signed up for the Fresh Chapter Alliance Foundation Tribe. You will be the first to know about program dates, eligibility, fundraising commitments, scholarship opportunities, and everything you need to know about starting fresh with us. 

* Dates are subject to change based on funding and availability with our international partners.