"Gray skies are just clouds passing over"

I don't believe in the famous credo of popculture - "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong".
Wikipedia's definition for Failure: in general refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of success.

I do not believe in failure. Unless understood as a state in which a person chooses to stop his/her development due to God knows what kind of bad circumstance. Maybe, but just maybe, the consequent result between what a person has become in fact and what that person would have been capable of becoming might be called failure. But i do not believe in failure. George Bernard Shaw once said that "A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing." I consider this to be so true. Just like Oscar Wilde, i name these mistakes "experience". Which is far more important, at least to me, than a warm way of living, in the shadow of fear of failure. Than routine, confort, conformism and compromise, which are all side effects or, better said, direct severe consequences of this fear of failure. Edison, whom i admired a lot when i was a child, due to a book about his life that i've read, said it beautifully: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Is this optimism? I am not an optimistic person. I am, however, a lucid person. Lucky enough to realise my rationality. People get so little wisdom by always doing everything by the book. It's not in vain that a brilliant coach like Vince Lombardi kept saying that "Winners never quit and quitters never win".

We are not supposed to live depending on other people's views. We are not supposed to spend our lives trying to please one person or another. We are not supposed to listen blindly to some other person's system of values. Cause we should have the power to judge for ourselves. We are supposed to live our lives. To make the best of our lives. Not to make the best of our lives serve somebody else's interests. For fear of not being fired, mocked, yelled at, renegated etc.

I liked "Elizabethtown" for Cameron Crowe's capacity to stand for these observations. And to use a very pleasant story for a frame. A story which has some romance, some drama, some comedy and a lot of music and journey beauty. "Always do what you are afraid to do", as Emerson invited us. Moreover, he went on saying: "Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them." So, be brave! Surrender in front of crazy impulses which you know might inspire you, might widen your creativity, might enlighten you and add up to your experience. Realise how lucky you are to have what you have. See beyond what you were prepared to see. Admit and, most important, ackowledge that "what lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" ( :)) yes, i do like Emerson a lot, for God knows what reason and yes, i know he hated quotes, but well now...). Admire people who deserve it; learn from them, stay close to them. Don't make them say, as Claire does at one point in the movie that they are "impossible to forget, hard to remember" for you. Invent, scatter joy, take people you meet as people who know some things you don't and learn from each. Each might surprise you. Dare. "To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."(Anatole France). Change and exchange. Places, views, attitudes. Don't victimize yourself. Laugh when you do it anyway. "It isn't what they say about you, it's what they whisper." (Errol Flynn) . So ignore them. Prove yourself differently and only care about this. Look around and observe. Treasure deadlines. Observe, observe, observe. Imagine. I read comments on "Elizabethtown" by people for whom the "1 billion dollars story" was totally unrealistic and this was enough for them to hate the movie and accuse the director of lacking credibility. Wake up, people! It was a story; and everything is possible in stories. Remember that from your childhood. Take a deep breath. Take a trip. Transform it into a journey. And remember, "it is better to die on your feet than live on your knees" (Dolores Ibarruri).