“Forget mistakes. Forget failure. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.”

— Will Durant

Decades ago I was a huge fan of the R&B group Guy, and practically every song written and produced by Teddy Riley in the 1990s. I also crushed on Aaron Hall—but I digress. A few weeks ago, renowned music producers Teddy Riley and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds participated in an Instagram music “battle.” The concept involved the two producers playing their hits, in turn, to beat the other in a good-natured way.

Although I am a fan of the music created by both men, I wasn’t among the half-a-million plus people who watched it. But I read some of the comments and saw a handful of memes highlighting the aftermath of the event.

I felt bad for TR. We all indeed make mistakes—it is a part of being human. But for most of us, our mistakes aren’t viewed, mocked, and blasted over social media by millions of people. I commend TR for looking past the ridicule and moving forward.

Life never ceases to amaze me. I came across Will Durant’s quote when I initially thought about writing this post. I considered finding it as a form of confirmation and support for my blog. Little did I know, it would mean more than that to me a few weeks later.

Last week I encountered the most humiliating event of my career. I’ve wondered what stories will be told and questions asked about what transpired. But I remembered Mr. Durant’s quote and a familiar scripture.

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before”
Philippians 3:13 KJV

Mistakes happen along with things we just don’t understand. But It is my hope to encourage you and me to follow the examples of Will Durant, TR, and Paul—forget about it and focus on the now.