I have learned to think of failure as natural, as part of the process. I understand, now, that the more we search and the more we enter into the unknown, the more we can find— and proportionally, the more failures we have, too. But that’s okay. I believe in active living, and I believe that we have to risk to achieve great things. Woody Allen said: “If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.” This way we make failures work for us.

I decided to go to London for a month or so, to relax a little, and change the environment that surrounds me. Travel always has a good impact on me— it somehow opens the mind. I came to London with a friend, so I was not alone, and it was great.

With the intention of developing a prototype for a web application I had in my mind for almost a year— always postponing the work or having no time for it— I felt that it was finally a good time to start working. One day, I decided that it would be fun to go to London and code the app, so I did.

A month passed like a week. A little exploration of a big city, a little work on my client’s project, a little work on the Idiles app, and the time passed away so quickly. I like London very much, and I know that I will come back here again and again. But now I feel that it’s time to go home, back to Lithuania. My friends are there: I miss them, and I feel that we are going to do much together.

For me, a hometown feels like the best place in the world to develop web applications or online businesses (although I can’t say anything about other types of businesses). It is better emotionally. It is effective and fun. You don’t have to leave your family and friends to build a great online business. You can do that wherever you are— all you need is a passion for it. One especially great example is Balsamiq.

Nowadays people can work remotely, living thousands of miles away from each other. We truly live in great times. You can live in a homestead by the lake and work with clients from all over the world. You can join a team of friends and build a business even if you live in a very small town. All you need to do is be active. Knowledge will follow. Experience will do the same. And the most important thing: when you become an active person, circumstances will automatically become favorable, despite any moments of defeat you may have. I believe that this is how the world works. Don’t wait for the “appropriate circumstances”. Never. Pursue your goals boldly. If you really want something, the right moment is now.

Desire for success and belief in success lead to achieving goals. If you believe in something, you believe that it will happen, and it probably will, thanks to your motivation.

I am going back home in a few days. It was well worth it to come here. In London I found a street where all the shops were musical instrument shops. Thousands of guitars, pianos and other great stuff. A wonderful feeling for me. I found a bansuri flute here— an original Indian flute made from bamboo, that I had been looking for, for years. I believed that I would find it in London— and it happened.

Two more days left. Or as many as we want.

(This post was originally written for my old blog last summer)