How do you define your success?

Bring your idea to life!

That's what we encourage you to do in a makerspace. Observe, explore, tinker and maybe come up with a potential solution to a problem you've identified.

Don't be afraid of the unknown, don't be afraid to try new things and mostly... don't be afraid to fail!

Thomas Edison is reported to have said: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Most times, it takes several iterations of an idea to get to the desired outcome. So failure is usually part of the path to success.

But let's be honest, no one really wants to fail at anything...especially when it comes to life. No one wants to feel like a failure.

Someone asked this random but also very specific question on Quora:

"I'm 24, am I too late to be successful?"

Here is also a great answer to that question.

Failure or success are just a matter of expectations. What did you set out to accomplish? Did you learn anything? How many times have you tried? How fast were you expecting to succeed?

During the first "Ignite Los Alamos" at Los Alamos Makers, Kaylen gave a genuine talk about what success really means and how to go about reaching it (5min. video below).

Hint: Don't just go through the motions!

We first met Kaylen when she interned with The Community Lab, as part of a wonderful community program through UNM-LA (Community Internship Collaboration). It was such a pleasure to work with her. She was very productive, a fast learner, smart and ambitious...but above all she had integrity in a lot of various ways.

We hope you enjoy her short talk and we commend her for taking on the challenge.