[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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What I Learn From My Thousand Mile Failures

I set the goal of running 1,000 miles for several years. I joined a club on Facebook committed to running 1,000 miles. I put a training plan in place to achieve that goal each time. I have fallen far short each time. Right now, at the begiining of a New Year. I want to take stock. I know that some of my biggest lessons have come from running. As worn out as it might sound, some of my biggest lessons have also come from failure. I believe that to be true with my entire heart.

Questions from my 1,000 Mile Failures

How far is 1000 Miles? Really?

One thousand miles is a long way. I am not sure I truly grasped the magnitude of the distance when we signed up for the group. I remember seeing pictures of really fit people who had been in the club for years but did not connect the dots that they got fit by running 1,000 miles. At first, the miles ticked by quickly. Then travel happened. Then sickness happened. Then hot weather happened. Then more travel happened. Then more sickness happened. Progress toward 1000 miles slowed. Inertia built. The realization the actual goal was unattainable built more inertia. That is the thing about big goals — it takes a certain amount of audacity, ignorance, consistent effort, hard headedness, and a long-game perspective to achieve them.

Can goals be test-driven?

The 1,000-mile goal felt like I was test-driving a car before buying it. I was test driving a running lifestyle. I was test driving how my body might feel if running became a part of my regular routine. I was test driving how much I could eat and drink (and not gain weight) while maintaining a running lifestyle. We can test-drive to see if we can achieve the desired outcome. A test drive can strengthen the body and mind to accomplish the goal in the future. A test drive can teach the values of strength and persistence and clarify the depth of the desire to achieve the goal. A test drive can determine if you have set the right goal.

Is it better to try and fail than to never try?

Yes. It is better to try and fail than to never try at all. It is even better to try and fail, and try and fail, and try and fail many times than never to try at all. Each failure provides insight into ourselves. Each failure moves us from being stuck. Each failure is a hot-cold test in which we can move from cold/failure toward hot/success at each decision point. Change is constant and inevitable. Trying is a way to take the wheel and drive the change bus to where I want to go.

How many times is too many times to fail?

There are never too many times to fail. The trick is to allow failure to make you mindful, wise, humble, determined, clever, inquisitive, imaginative, focused, flexible, and all the other things life wants to teach us. Each failure can bring light if we don’t focus on darkness. Each failure can bring hope if we don’t lose our way in despair. Each failure can bring us closer to where we want to be if we trust in the place in our hearts that knows after we burn, we rise.