So many things in life just go away

There’s nothing more unsatisfying than spending a ton time and energy on a project that has marginal impact, or worse yet, never even sees the light of day.

Kind of kills your motivation going forward, doesn’t it?

But that work doesn’t have to go to waste.

Leonard Cohen, one of the greatest songwriters of all time, reminds us to never allow the day to go down in debt. Meaning, regardless of our project’s results, there are still certain things nobody can take away from us. Like our initiative, our effort and our wisdom.

After working at four different agencies and startups over the years, I can remember dozens of projects just like this. Either they kicked off with a bang and fizzled out over time, died a horrible death two weeks before launch, or got deprioritized and forgotten halfway through the process.

It happens every day. So many things in life just go away. But the more reasons to adopt an attitude of optimism about the progress of life, right?

Look, just because your project didn’t go on to become part of one company’s legacy, doesn’t mean it can’t become part of ours. It may not be listed on their portfolio, but you better believe it’ll be listed on ours.

Hey man, we all take our victories where we can get them. We all tell the stories from the battlefield regardless of how much blood was shed. We all remember the past the way we need to.

And those stories we tell ourselves about the work we and the impact it had, they can be framed in whatever way best serves our careers going forward.

If your next project becomes one of those things that just goes away, consciously keep optimism as your chosen attitude and the lens through which your view the world.

Nothing is ever wasted. Only transformed.

Are you learning enough through this experience to consider it part of your education?