Success is Just Past Splat

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dr. Laura Podcast

Episode Title: Success is Just Past Splat
Host: Dr. Laura Schlessinger
Date: May 29, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Laura Schlessinger delivers a passionate, no-nonsense monologue unpacking the importance of failure as a teacher and motivator on the road to personal success. Drawing inspiration from a Medium article ("How I Learned from Failing" by Alwyn Bosco), Dr. Laura distills its wisdom alongside her own insights and stories, emphasizing that “success is just past splat”—meaning everyone must endure and learn from setbacks to attain meaningful growth and accomplishment.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Failing is Fundamental to Growth

• Dr. Laura underscores failure as “the answer to life” and asserts that being willing to fail is crucial for happiness, contentment, and success.
• She cites and expands on Bosco’s journey from fearing failure as weakness to embracing it as a “teacher and motivator.”
  • Quote: “Failing makes life worth living, makes you more content, happy, excited. Failing is that important.” — Dr. Laura [03:30]

2. Growth Happens Outside Comfort Zones

• Paraphrasing the article:
  • Growth and learning only happen when we push ourselves into discomfort and take risks.
  • Dr. Laura adds that avoiding difficulty means stalling personal development.
• Progression through Failure: Every attempt after initial failure led to incremental improvement for the article’s author.
  • Quote: “Now, when I'm uncomfortable, I see it as a signal I’m on the right path. Because growth only happens when you’re uncomfortable.” — Dr. Laura [05:25]

3. Perfectionism is an Illusion; Progress is What Counts

• Dr. Laura relays the author’s realization that "perfection doesn't exist" and redirects focus to continual progress rather than flawless outcomes.
  • Incremental growth: Getting “1% better every day” adds up to tremendous improvement over time.
  • Quote: “Forget perfection. It's progress that counts.” — Dr. Laura [08:10]
  • “When you focus on getting 1% better every day, you'll be amazed at how far you can go in a year.” — Dr. Laura [08:25]

4. Failure as a Stepping Stone — ‘Fail Forward’

• Reframing setbacks as opportunities for reflection and learning, Dr. Laura drives home the idea that each failure can be used as “fuel” to pursue new ventures.
  • Quote: “Failure isn’t an end. It can be a stepping stone to your next success.” — Dr. Laura [09:00]

5. Avoid Comparison—Run Your Own Race

• Using the story of the race leader losing by glancing over their shoulder, Dr. Laura illustrates the trap of comparison:
  • Comparison distracts and diminishes joy, while focusing on personal progress builds authentic achievement.
  • Quote: “Comparison steals your joy, distracts you from your progress... So what’s the point of comparing?” — Dr. Laura [10:20]

6. Stop Waiting for the ‘Right Time’—Start Now

• Dr. Laura challenges the all-too-common excuse of “waiting for the right time,” declaring that the perfect moment doesn’t exist.
  • Taking action, even imperfectly, is the only real way forward.
  • Quote: “You just do it. You create the opportunity. You start. Over time, your small actions add up to big results.” — Dr. Laura [11:05]
• On Grandiosity vs. Action: She expresses “umbrage” with people who talk big but don’t act, stressing the need to move from intention to execution.

7. The “Splat” Parable — Success Lies Beyond Setbacks

• Dr. Laura passionately recounts a formative cartoon:
  • A man seeking the secret to success visits a guru, who points “that way.” The man goes and hits “splat.” He returns, asks again, and receives the same direction, hits another “splat.” The third time, the guru finally clarifies: “Just a little bit past splat.”
  • Quote: “I have to go through splats to get there. And trust me, friends, in 51 years... yeah, there are a lot of splats... You have to get past splat or you’ll never have success.” — Dr. Laura [14:40]
• Personal Reflection: Dr. Laura mentions her own “splats”—both minor and major—throughout her career, reinforcing that overcoming failure is an enduring part of adulthood and success.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Failure’s Role:
  • “Growth happens when you’re outside your comfort zone.” — Dr. Laura citing Alwyn Bosco [05:25]
  • “Failure is a stepping stone. Learn to fail forward.” — Dr. Laura [09:00]
• On Comparison:
  • “Run your own race... Comparison steals your joy.” — Dr. Laura [10:15-10:30]
• On Timing:
  • “There’s no such thing as the perfect moment. You just do it.” — Dr. Laura [11:05]
• On the “Splat” Lesson:
  • “Success is just past splat.” — Guru in Dr. Laura’s story [14:30]
• Personal Philosophy:
  • “In every failure, you don’t quit. Analyze... figure out what you have to do better or different. Then you’ll have success.” — Dr. Laura [16:30]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:30] — Dr. Laura introduces the key theme: “Failing is the answer to life.”
• [05:25] — Discomfort is a sign you’re growing.
• [08:10] — Perfectionism vs. Progress: “Forget perfection. It's progress that counts.”
• [09:00] — Reframing failure as a “stepping stone.”
• [10:15] — The dangers of comparison: “Run your own race.”
• [11:05] — Taking action: “You just do it. You create the opportunity.”
• [14:00-15:30] — Dr. Laura recounts the “Splat” cartoon and its life lesson.
• [16:30] — Conclusion and Dr. Laura’s call to action: learn from every “splat” for real success.

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Tone and Style

Dr. Laura’s language is direct, energetic, and tinged with humor, moving briskly between anecdotes and hard-won advice. She challenges the audience to face discomfort, embrace mistakes, and stop waiting for life to be perfect.

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In Summary

This episode is a motivating blend of personal storytelling, sharp observations, and actionable advice. Dr. Laura pushes listeners to embrace failure, avoid perfectionism and comparison, and take immediate action toward their goals, reminding them that lasting success is achieved only by journeying “just past splat.”

Transcript

[Dr. Laura Schlessinger]

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Love it, love it, love it, love it. Why? Because it is the answer to life. That made you pay attention. Because you think that's incredibly stupid for me to say, don't you? It makes life worth living, makes you more content, happy, excited. Failing is that important. So I'm just excerpt Ed writes it from the first person. He or she. I have no idea when failing was the best thing that ever happened. I used to fear failure, the author says. Saw it as a sign of weakness, a marker of my limitations it's horrible. And then I realized that if I was willing every time I failed, I could learn something about myself and learned that failing was a teacher and a word I don't like to use very much. A motivator. So here are the aspects of failing Growth happens when you're outside your comfort zone. Well, of course it does. If you're in your comfort zone, you don't learn anything and you don't grow. Writes I avoided risks. I avoided challenges. I avoided anything that felt difficult. I thought I was protecting myself from failure, but I was holding myself back from life. I'm adding things here that weren't in the article. I decided to step out. First time I did, I failed miserably at what I tried. The second time, I got a little better. Time after time, the failures were a little less severe and I improved. Now, the author writes, when I'm uncomfortable, I see it as a signal that I'm on the right path. Because growth only happens when you're uncomfortable. Comfortable. Life doesn't have to be so complicated. Walmart helps you simplify. They're your one stop Shop for daily essentials like groceries, snacks, school supplies, and thanks to Walmart Pharmacy, you can count on them for your prescription needs, too. Use the Walmart app to easily manage your family's medications and save time by getting prescriptions delivered right to your door. Switch your prescriptions to Walmart Pharmacy Delivery not available for all Prescriptions and exclusions apply. 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[Dr. Laura Schlessinger]

Number two Perfection is an illusion Focus on progress made, not perfection Author says I wanted flawless results, but I was afraid of making mistakes. And guess what? Perfection doesn't exist. So I stopped obsessing over perfect outcomes and started focusing on getting better every day, whether learning a new skill or working on a personal goal. So forget perfection. It's progress that counts. When you focus on getting 1% better every day, just 1% better every day, you'll be amazed at how far you can go in a year. I think that's 365% better. All right. Number three out of five failure is a stepping stone. Learn to fail forward. Instead of dwelling on what went wrong, decided to analyze what I could learn. And it turned every failure into an opportunity. After a failed business venture, I took time to reflect on what went wrong. Instead of giving up, I used that failure as fuel to start something new. Failure isn't an end. It can be a stepping stone to your next success. Number 4 out of 5 Comparison oh oh, oh. Run your own race. I remember seeing a video about a week ago and I don't know where it was. It looked like the Olympics. But anyway, these people were running the race and the one in front was killing it. I mean, killing it until I don't remember if it was a he or she. These days, nobody cares. But that person looked behind and to the side to compare where they were with respect to the next runners and lost the race because when you're turning and looking, you don't have the same forward momentum. And the other person did. Don't compare. So the author says, I stopped comparing my journey to others and started focusing on my path. I set personal goals meaningful only to me, and I measured my success based on progress, not somebody else's. Because comparison steals your joy, distracts you from your progress. And frankly, there are going to be people smarter than you and less smart than you, people better looking than you, people less good looking than you, people richer than you, people less richer than you. So what's the point of comparing? Last but not least, and this is where I take umbrage with a lot of people who call grandiose ideas of what they would like to be doing, but they don't take the time, make the effort to have it happen. I'm waiting for the right time. You know how many people have said that to me? I'm waiting for the time is right. Yeah. How will we know when that is? Truth is, there's no such thing as the perfect moment. You just do it. You create the opportunity. You just do it. You don't wait till you feel ready. You start. Over time, your small actions add up to big results. So stop waiting for the right time, the right moment, the right feeling. That's now. Whether it's starting a new project, pursuing a passion, making a major life change. Take action. You don't have to know everything. You just need to get started. And 50 years ago, I saw a cartoon strip that stayed with me. It's the only cartoon strip in my life I ever cut out and saved my whole life because I thought this was seriously the most brilliant. At least it resonated with me. So here it goes. This man just wants to be a success. And he figures the smartest way to get to be a success is to find somebody who could tell him where it is, how to get there. So he decides to go to Tibet. Climbs this mountain in a three piece suit, the attache case, to meet the guru. Guru is sitting there, cross legged, this little indentation in the mountain and says, guru, which way is success? Guru. Sitting on the floor, cross legged, arms crossed, white gown, big beard, points off into the distance. And the guy goes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And he climbs down the mountain and goes in that direction. And all you see in that next picture in this cartoon strip is splat. S P L A T T, splat. Figures he must have gotten something wrong. So he comes back, the attache case is broken, his jacket is sort of shredded. I mean, it was a big splat. Comes back, climbs up the mountain again and says to the guru, let's try this again. Which way is success? Guru silently raises his hand, points what seems like the same direction, and the guy figures, okay, I must have gotten the angle off. Climbs down, goes next piece of this strip. You see splat. He's practically crawling back. His clothes are in tatters, his hair is just chaos and it's just miserable and he's pissed. So he climbs up that mountain and has a confrontation with a guru who finally speaks and says, I told you twice. It's that way. Just a little bit past splat. Whoa. I just think that was one of the most earth shaking things I had learned as a young person. It's past splat. I have to go through splats to get there. And trust me, friends in 51 years on radio and in academe and what have you. Yeah, there are a lot of splats for all sorts of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with you. But the world is pretty competitive and pretty ugly sometimes. And you have to get past splat or you'll never have success. Peace, comfort, never. You have to be willing to get past splatter. Your life is seriously boring and you're going to do the I'm depressed, put me on drugs so I can go into an altered state, and that's another reason I don't have to go past splat. I can't, it's not my fault, and so forth. So consider that success is past splat. In every failure, you don't quit. Analyze the situation, figure out what you have to do better or different. Yeah, then you'll have success. I love the splat story. Sort of the cornerstone of my early training to be an adult and to do what I'm doing. Little splats along the way, huge splats. Oh, my God, there have been some huge splats. So what? I'm here today with you, so give me a call at 1-800-375-2872. Check out my social media on Facebook and Instagram. I post stories, photos and videos seven days a week and feature some of what you've sent me, too. There's always something interesting going on there. You can find me at facebook.com DrLora and instagram.com DrLauraprogram SiriusXM Triumph is life

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[Dr. Laura Schlessinger]

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[Dr. Laura Schlessinger]

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