Woman Wednesday: Katie Martin

Katie was the one who inspired this whole series in the first place. Because it was so spur of the moment, I really never had a chance to ask her for a quote until I was curating my book, Every Woman. She is a champion, a strong and mighty woman. She deserves to be immensely celebrated.

“I’m strong because I have failed. Some have been big failures and some have been small. I’ve failed new jobs, I’ve failed relationships, I’ve failed lifts at the gym, I’ve failed at school. I’ve failed things over and over and over again. And that’s okay. Because what I’ve learned is that when you give effort and time and dedication to something and still fail, it’s just an opportunity to learn, to regroup, and to try again. Brush yourself off, know you did your best, and get back on your feet.
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Failure isn’t an end; it’s just a hurdle, a speed bump. And if you want something bad enough, you’ll make it happen, regardless of how many times you fail. Eventually, you will eventually succeed.
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And that’s the funny thing: Most people just see the success. They don’t get to see the struggle, the sacrifices, the late nights, early mornings, the failing over and over. But to be successful, you just have to try one more time than you failed. Failure can break you, but only if you let it. It may take me a little longer to get back on my feet these days, but I'm blessed to have a family who welcomes me home no matter what, friends who will laugh with me and call me out and literally shake me until I come to my senses, a great job with career mentors who believe in me sometimes more than I believe in myself, a gym community that takes me back despite countless failures and injuries, and a Faith that keeps me grounded.
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I don't ever want to take these years for granted, not the tiny apartment, the duct taped sideview mirrors, the multiple jobs, and especially not the failures. I've taken the unconventional route, living with a heart split between two homes, a gypsy soul that has found refuge in the strangest countries...and sometimes I'm not entirely sure where I'm going anymore. But that's the journey of life.
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Life is beautiful Life is joyful. Life is what you make it. There will be setbacks and failures, but in the end, you just need to come out strong at the broken places."