Happy Friday fellow creative friends,
If you’ve felt like you’ve been failing or falling short of your expectations lately, this one is for you.
We live in a world obsessed with instant gratification, where we tend to only see finished products, accolades and seemingly overnight successes. No wonder we tend to compare ourselves, feel discouraged by our own artistic journey and like we keep falling short. I know I’ve been there more than once.
So today I’d like to tell you a story about one of my favourite composers, and I hope it will help you challenge the way you relate to failure and artistic journey.
First up: fun fact.
It is claimed that Boléro by French composer Maurice Ravel is played every 15 minutes somewhere in the world.
Since the piece lasts 15-17 minutes, this would suggests that the piece starts playing somewhere in the world just as it finishes elsewhere, which is a very poetic (albeit not strictly provable) notion. Like an never ending soundtrack to the human experience.
Whether this claim is actually accurate is of little importance. The point is that Boléro is undeniably one of the most performed, recorded and well known orchestral pieces of all time, and I’m ready to bet you’ve heard it more than once, even if you may not recall its composer or title.
Just in case you need a refresher (and for the sake of setting the mood of this week’s musings), allow me to jolt your memory:
“Aaaaah! That one!” I hear you say.
Yes, that one.
What does this hugely successful piece of music have to do with failure?
Well, kind of everything.
Maurice Ravel was not an instant success. Far from it.
To say that he faced multiple failures and setbacks throughout his career is an understatement.
Yet his resilience and approach to failure are humbling and can offer profound lessons for artists and creatives (or any human being for that matter) regardless of their discipline.
Lesson 1: Rejection does not define you and has nothing to do with your worth as an artist.
Ravel famously failed five times to win the prestigious Prix de Rome, a coveted award for young composers.
FIVE.
Freaking.
Times.
😳
Despite this, he never stopped composing and refining his signature style.
When you fall short, your self-doubt might be screaming that you suck and you should forget all about this silly art making of yours and cripple you with shame and paralysis, but it is precisely your weirdness, eccentricities and unique experience of the world that, in time will resonate at a deeper level with the right audience.
Takeaway: Institutional recognition is not the sole marker of artistic success.
(Louder for the people at the back!) I have been nominated for three coaching awards and have not won a single one. I failed my cello exam two years in a row when I was a teenager. I entered writing competitions at university and never won. I have entered countless open calls for photography and heard crickets.
Rejection, or even a lack of external validation, doesn’t mean your work lacks value—it might just mean your vision falls outside the conventional mould, or that you might not be in front of the right audience, or that you have not yet reached your deepest potential.
Lesson 2: Refine, don’t conform.
How do you keep believing in yourself and trusting your vision after repeated failures?
Rather than adjusting his music to fit academic expectations, Ravel doubled down on his distinct harmonic language and orchestrational style. His works, like Daphnis et Chloé and Le Tombeau de Couperin, are beautiful examples of his originality and unmistakable style.
In short: he kept working his French derrière off. Not just to prove a point, but because as an artist, you cannot not create.
That’s when falling in love with the process is everything.
Takeaway: keep your head down, keep creating, keep refining your artistic identity in a way that feels true to you, even when it means resisting external pressures to conform (see last week’s musings for more on the topic).
Lesson 3: Failure can lead to greater creative freedom
Because he never won the Prix de Rome, Ravel was not bound by the rigid expectations and obligations that came with it—rules that
This allowed him to chart his own artistic course.
Instead of being confined to traditional academic demands, he had the freedom to experiment, refine his voice, and write the music that was truly his. This artistic independence ultimately allowed him to create some of the most innovative and enduring works in classical music.
Takeaway: Sometimes, not achieving what you thought you wanted frees you to create more authentically. The opportunities we desperately chase aren’t necessarily what we need. Rejection can feel like a dead end, but in reality, can be a redirection toward something even more aligned with who you are.
Lesson 4: Perseverance and progress over perfectionism
Ravel was a notorious perfectionist, refining his compositions obsessively—sometimes to the point of frustration. His meticulous approach undoubtedly contributed to his brilliance, but it also meant that his creative process could be painstakingly slow.
As a recovering perfectionist myself, I know that trap a little too well and am very aware it is often a tell tale sign of self-doubt in action.
Takeaway: Perfectionism can feel like a worthy pursuit of excellence, but more often than not, it’s just fear in disguise—fear of being judged, of not being “good enough,” of failing publicly.
Striving for quality is important, but waiting until something is perfect before you share it? That’s how you stay stuck. Not everything you create needs to be a masterpiece, but every piece you work on contributes to the body of work you’re building over a lifetime.
Lesson 5: Reinvention is Part of the Process
Late in life, Ravel suffered from a neurodegenerative disease that robbed him of his ability to write music, even as his mind remained full of ideas. Though he could no longer compose as he once did, his spirit of experimentation never faded. He continued to explore new musical concepts, challenge conventions, and leave a lasting impact on the world of music—despite the profound limitations he faced.
Takeaway:Creativity isn’t about having perfect conditions—it’s about adaptability. Your circumstances, energy, or abilities may change, but your artistic voice remains.
When faced with obstacles, ask yourself:
How can I express my creativity in a new way?
What possibilities exist within my limitations?
Reinvention is not a sign of failure—it’s the hallmark of a true artist. The key isn’t to create exactly as you did before, but to keep creating in whatever way you can.
Ravel’s failures were not dead ends but stepping stones to his lasting impact.
So the next time you are faced with a setback, let yourself feel it. Cry your eyes out if you need to. Mourn the setback, the missed opportunity, the disappointment.
Ask yourself:
What does this failure open up for me?
What creative risks or personal growth might this allow?
And then—pick up the paintbrush. Write one true sentence. Take one photo. Keep taking action, because perfection isn’t what makes an artist great—persistence is.
True success often comes from forging your own path, especially after you’ve fallen flat on your face. The world needs your art now more than ever.
Much love and creativity, always.
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