Failure – Page 2 – Melissa Schlies

In 2020, Climb Your Mountain

Friend, the first time I climbed a mountain, I didn’t fully know if I was going to make it. It was so BIG. A few of the people I was with, had climbed the mountain before. And as we got ready to go, they talked about how there were some really challenging spots on the way to the top. I remember listening to them and wondering, What would I do, if I couldn’t make it? I wasn’t an experienced hiker. In fact, I had only recently begun to regularly go on hikes where I lived. My adventurous side had [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-03-26T16:33:23+00:00January 6th, 2020|Categories: Adulting, Calling, Change, Courage, discipline, Failure, Habit Making, Start Here|Comments Off

The Stump of a Redwood

Other than the sound of gravel crunching beneath our hiking shoes, it was quiet. The kind of quiet that makes you hesitant to speak. And when you do, it makes you whisper. All around us giant redwood trees towered above our heads. Tony and I were in California. But rather than visiting Muir Woods, we settled for Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. Longer to say, but not as overrun with tourists, as our online research had told us. And as it was early on a Sunday morning, All was still. There wasn’t even a breeze moving through the trees. The [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-03T16:06:11+00:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Acceptance, Beauty, Change, Failure, grief, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Leadership Tip #23: Learn How to Get Back Up

I was an honor student in high school. Maybe you’ve figured that out by now. Not because I am amazing, but perhaps because I am amazingly detailed. Or at least, I try as hard as I can to be. As a kid who grew up in a good home that faced its fair share of crisis, details became very important to me. The more details I was able to keep track of, at home and at school, the more I could keep things from falling apart. Even better, the greater chance I could succeed. The thing about being an honor [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-07-11T13:54:11+00:00July 18th, 2019|Categories: Courage, Failure, Fear, Lead, Leadership, Leadership Tip, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Making Decisions, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

What if I Make the Wrong Choice?

This wasn’t supposed to be my story. These words found their way into my thoughts as I pulled towels out of the dryer and began folding them. A year and half into being married, at thirty years of age, I was home without a job. Each day, my most pressing responsibilities were doing laundry and making dinner. I was a stay at home wife. I never thought I’d be a stay at home wife. Even if we decided to have kids, I always pictured myself as the working mom. But now, I was what I had judged other women so [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-07-15T19:43:02+00:00July 15th, 2019|Categories: Change, Courage, Failure, Fear, grief, Hope, Making Decisions, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

What if I don’t get it?

When I was in high school, I had a friend who applied to Harvard. Then she begged me not to tell anyone that she applied. It was a big, audacious dream that was too fragile to share. Best case scenario, if she got in, it would be this wonderful surprise for her to announce. But if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have to face the public embarrassment of not being accepted. When it comes to pursuing a goal, “What if I don’t get it?” is one of the scariest questions we can ask. Whether we’re applying to a college or to our [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-07-07T20:04:41+00:00July 8th, 2019|Categories: Adulting, Courage, Failure, Fear, Rejection, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Two Things Brene Brown Has Taught Me About Criticism

Growing up, there were a few circumstances that sent my family spinning into survival mode. Being the middle child, I quickly learned to cope by trying to make everyone and everything all right. Something, I couldn’t actually do. But by watching out for my younger sisters, being good, and taking care of things around the house, it seemed I was able to manage things. That somehow, for my family, I was able to lessen the blow. These skills I developed at home served me well at school too. By learning what was expected of me and performing it, I was [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-04-24T13:52:40+00:00April 25th, 2019|Categories: Courage, Failure, Fear, Good Books, Identity, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Rejection, Uncategorized|4 Comments

What Holds Us Back: The Fear of Criticism

"What will people think?” Sometimes, what is holding us back is as simple as these four little words. Seconded only by “What will people say?” The power that these two small questions have is incalculable. Because, no matter where we were born, what our family was like, or where we went to school, we all know the sting of criticism. And it is our natural response to try to avoid the pain. Only what happens when the thing you know you’re meant to do, the thing you should do, or the thing you can’t stop dreaming about—could put you in [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-04-18T14:50:53+00:00April 22nd, 2019|Categories: Anxiety, Calling, Change, Courage, Failure, Fear, Freedom, Hope, Making Decisions, perseverance, Rejection, Success, Uncategorized|4 Comments

Failure On The Ski Slope

I had done this before. So why was I struggling so much to even get on the lift? It was New Year’s Day. My friend from high school and her boyfriend had picked me up from my grandparents house in Boston, where I was living at the time. Then we drove up to New Hampshire to go skiing for the afternoon. The previous spring I had graduated from college, and now I was working in a university bookstore in the city. My friends were scattered around the country, and my life was not going to plan. So having my friend [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-03-01T19:23:21+00:00March 11th, 2019|Categories: Anxiety, Courage, Failure, Success, Uncategorized|6 Comments

Being a Grown-Up

Perhaps I watched too many Disney movies as a kid, but I used to believe that if I did all the right things, my life wouldn’t be hard. As if pain only comes to those who get into trouble. As if struggle is a choice. But then, I found myself pursuing a career with little room for women. I found a lump and thought I might have cancer at twenty-three. When I finally got a job in my career field, I moved to another state and learned that beginning a new life in a new town isn’t so easy. And [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-01-31T22:43:24+00:00February 11th, 2019|Categories: Adulting, Courage, Failure, gratitude, Hope, perseverance, Purpose, Rejection, Success, Uncategorized|2 Comments

Starting the Year Less Than 100%

Confession: January is one of the hardest months for me to institute change in my life. Part of the reason why, is a lifestyle choice. Well, kind of a lifestyle choice. Let me explain. For almost fifteen years now, I have lived away from family. Then, I married someone who also moved away from where he grew up, This means that every Christmas, I travel. During the time of the year where I am most likely to eat foods I know weaken my body, and to fill my schedule limiting time for rest, I get on an airplane with a [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-01-10T16:41:44+00:00January 14th, 2019|Categories: Balance, Calling, Change, Character, Courage, Failure, Fear, Health, Hope, perseverance, Success|5 Comments

In 2020, Climb Your Mountain

The Stump of a Redwood

Leadership Tip #23: Learn How to Get Back Up

What if I Make the Wrong Choice?

What if I don’t get it?

Two Things Brene Brown Has Taught Me About Criticism

What Holds Us Back: The Fear of Criticism

Failure On The Ski Slope

Being a Grown-Up

Starting the Year Less Than 100%

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