Thank you Robin and to all your fellow volunteers, SmallStack is already a success. Great to feel part of a small but beautifully formed community. Really appreciate all the hard work.
Robin, Not sure why you're even talking about failure, especially with so many people supporting this effort and lots of interested others like me. Will everything launch perfectly, probably not, but it will launch. There are always hiccups along the way. That's life!
Celebrate the wins and thanks for being brave enough to lead and get others to follow. Bravo!
I think you’re talking about hiccups or glitches, not failures. Failure is walking away because you couldn’t make it work, despite much effort, support and goodwill. That’s not going to happen, is it?
Yes, exactly! Things will probably go wrong, but that's not failure. That's life, and you will deal with it, leading to even more success than you've already initiated.
Robin what you've done building this community is inspiring! I'm looking forward to the library - getting that first version of anything shipped is hard - and then iteration will take over to squash the inevitable bugs and it will get ever better.
Your “whim” has such amazing potential, and like most endeavors, SmallStack will no doubt reflect the sincerity and hopeful aspirations of its creator. Figuring it out on the go is all we can ask- glitches and hiccups will happen. You’ve already demonstrated humility and commitment to success through this post, and really every way you show up on this platform. I don’t know how I was fortunate enough to stumble onto this in its infancy during my first week on Substack, but I’m so glad I did. Thank you for all you are doing. SmallStack is going to be amazing!
Wendy, I'm so glad you stumbled here! This community feels like such a welcoming place to bring our vulnerabilities, and that really does feel like success.
Thank you for all your work on this amazing community project!!!
If I can offer a tiny bit of reassurance - if your website goes down that is not really a failure. I've been working on websites for 10 years ... and I've accidentally taken down my share of important business-critical websites. And... I just had to troubleshoot, call my team or the hosting provider and get the site back up again. Basically everyone who has a website will eventually have outages which last for hours or days. It's going to be just fine, whether your site works the whole time or not.
I won't be able to be at the chat but wanted to share my truth: I have failed at writing. Published books no one bought. Gave readings no one came to. I have failed at creative entrepreneurship. Built a business, exhausted myself, and failed to make enough money to even get the tax man's attention. I have failed at marriage and have the divorce to prove it. God knows parenting provides a lot of opportunities to fail.
But here is what I have learned: as a high achieving, perfectionist creative and "smart girl," it was through failure that I got to know myself. What I wanted, what I was compelled by. Failure is a glorious and difficult teacher. But I no longer fear her.
I deeply appreciate the “behind the scenes” glimpses at what it takes to create, curate, and nurture an entity such as this. “Failure” is such an interesting concept, right? I so wish we could banish that word from our vocabulary and collective mindsets. As the best teachers and coaches among us teach, and as the great philosophers and sages wrote all along, failure does not exist—just learning; and if we care, we learn how to do things differently the next time. You, Robin, and the entire team behind the scenes are compassionately bringing to us the stories of so many others who otherwise would never have the audience they likely deserve. THAT is commendable and worthy of respect and gratitude. In that, there can never be failure.
Thank you, Kert. Bringing these stories forward for others to find feels like one of the most valuable things I have done with my time (and possibly my life), and I receive so much in the process of finding and curating this work. It is a labor of love, and I would choose it over and over again.
This place is amazing. I am so glad to be welcome here. I have been feeling like such a failure, since I haven't been able to get the best parts of my brain to focus. The little failure voices pop up when I try. What a relief to remember - yes - we have already succeeded just by being here.
Bravo! Heart-warming and inspiring, in (what I always believed to be) the true spirit of Substack.
John, I hope this is always the true spirit of SmallStack. That's my goal.
💜💜💜
Thank you Robin and to all your fellow volunteers, SmallStack is already a success. Great to feel part of a small but beautifully formed community. Really appreciate all the hard work.
Thanks for being part of this, Helen.
Ditto this!
Robin, Not sure why you're even talking about failure, especially with so many people supporting this effort and lots of interested others like me. Will everything launch perfectly, probably not, but it will launch. There are always hiccups along the way. That's life!
Celebrate the wins and thanks for being brave enough to lead and get others to follow. Bravo!
I’m with you, man.
Bruce, I needed to hear that today. Thank you!
Robin, your very welcome! Thank you for all you've done along with your team.
Awesomeness😊
I give as good as I get, Hazel!
This is so beautiful. The launch will be what it will be. The intention behind it is the most wonderful thing 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙
Thanks, Lisa. I think you're right about that.
🤎🤎🤎🤎
Those look like chocolate hearts... yum!!
They do! Ha, I was just thinking about chocolate...well, I'm often thinking about chocolate
Robin, Your audio was so comforting and authentic. Thanks for that.
Wow! Thank you!
You're welcome and,,, thank you!
Those are essential thoughts!!
Yeah...lol!
Good luck. You’re doing great.
Lynn, so are you!! So happy to have you with us, friend.
I think you’re talking about hiccups or glitches, not failures. Failure is walking away because you couldn’t make it work, despite much effort, support and goodwill. That’s not going to happen, is it?
I agree—failure, if it can be said there is such a thing, is better defined as “giving up!” But even that’s not failure—that’s just sad.
Very wise words, Kert. No giving up from me. I'm in this for the long haul.
Oh Rona, I love being here so much, I'm not going anywhere! If only the rest of my life was as lovely as it is here at SmallStack!
Yes, exactly! Things will probably go wrong, but that's not failure. That's life, and you will deal with it, leading to even more success than you've already initiated.
I agree. These are natural growing pains of a startup.
Thanks for building more trust that we'll all figure this out together.
I wouldn't have it any other way, Jill.
Robin what you've done building this community is inspiring! I'm looking forward to the library - getting that first version of anything shipped is hard - and then iteration will take over to squash the inevitable bugs and it will get ever better.
That's it exactly, Andrew!
Your “whim” has such amazing potential, and like most endeavors, SmallStack will no doubt reflect the sincerity and hopeful aspirations of its creator. Figuring it out on the go is all we can ask- glitches and hiccups will happen. You’ve already demonstrated humility and commitment to success through this post, and really every way you show up on this platform. I don’t know how I was fortunate enough to stumble onto this in its infancy during my first week on Substack, but I’m so glad I did. Thank you for all you are doing. SmallStack is going to be amazing!
Wendy, I'm so glad you stumbled here! This community feels like such a welcoming place to bring our vulnerabilities, and that really does feel like success.
Thank you for all your work on this amazing community project!!!
If I can offer a tiny bit of reassurance - if your website goes down that is not really a failure. I've been working on websites for 10 years ... and I've accidentally taken down my share of important business-critical websites. And... I just had to troubleshoot, call my team or the hosting provider and get the site back up again. Basically everyone who has a website will eventually have outages which last for hours or days. It's going to be just fine, whether your site works the whole time or not.
Rey, this is actually a really helpful perspective. And you're right, sites may fail, but they come back up later.
I won't be able to be at the chat but wanted to share my truth: I have failed at writing. Published books no one bought. Gave readings no one came to. I have failed at creative entrepreneurship. Built a business, exhausted myself, and failed to make enough money to even get the tax man's attention. I have failed at marriage and have the divorce to prove it. God knows parenting provides a lot of opportunities to fail.
But here is what I have learned: as a high achieving, perfectionist creative and "smart girl," it was through failure that I got to know myself. What I wanted, what I was compelled by. Failure is a glorious and difficult teacher. But I no longer fear her.
This is a great reflection Sarah. I so want to ask you: “Okay, given your life’s story then, have you ever really failed? Does failure really exist?”
Great question!
Sarah, this is so insightful and important. What a great truth to know about yourself.
I deeply appreciate the “behind the scenes” glimpses at what it takes to create, curate, and nurture an entity such as this. “Failure” is such an interesting concept, right? I so wish we could banish that word from our vocabulary and collective mindsets. As the best teachers and coaches among us teach, and as the great philosophers and sages wrote all along, failure does not exist—just learning; and if we care, we learn how to do things differently the next time. You, Robin, and the entire team behind the scenes are compassionately bringing to us the stories of so many others who otherwise would never have the audience they likely deserve. THAT is commendable and worthy of respect and gratitude. In that, there can never be failure.
Thank you, Kert. Bringing these stories forward for others to find feels like one of the most valuable things I have done with my time (and possibly my life), and I receive so much in the process of finding and curating this work. It is a labor of love, and I would choose it over and over again.
This place is amazing. I am so glad to be welcome here. I have been feeling like such a failure, since I haven't been able to get the best parts of my brain to focus. The little failure voices pop up when I try. What a relief to remember - yes - we have already succeeded just by being here.
Kara, I've heard that little failure voice many times, too. Rest assured, you are in good company here.
Thank you!