Welcome to the Blooming Mindset, a weekly dose of clarity, mindset, and practical wisdom to help you stay consistent, think more deeply, and build a life aligned with your identity and purpose. I’m Ruth Rieckehoff, and I’m so glad you’re here. Please share this newsletter with a friend!
Beloved Architect of Identity,
The job you dreaded at 17 might be the reason you win at 35.
When my husband was a teenager, his mom opened a tiny bakery.
Nothing fancy. Just a few kinds of bread each day.
And like most family businesses, help was expected.
So he woke up before sunrise. Mixed dough. Sweated next to hot ovens.
He was not thrilled about it.
He was into cars, not loaves. He wanted to be at the auto shop, not covered in flour.
But he helped anyway. For years.
Eventually, the bakery closed. Life moved on.
Fast forward a decade.
Food trucks exploded in popularity. He joined one. Then the 2008 crisis hit, and that venture collapsed too.
Another dead end. Or so it seemed.
While figuring out his next move, he applied to a well-known artisan bakery in Los Angeles.
During the interview, they asked one simple question:
“Do you have bread-making experience?”
He laughed. He had years of it.
That “annoying” teenage chore turned into his ticket in. He got the job.
For six years, he worked with master bakers, learned hundreds of recipes, and built a real career. Then he moved to another famous bakery for two more years.
Today, he still works in the food industry.
All because of a season he once thought was pointless.
I think about that story whenever I hear creators say:
“I wasted so much time.”
“I should be further along.”
“Nothing I’ve tried worked.”
I get it. I’ve felt it too.
Here’s what I want to offer today:
Nothing you tried was wasted.
You were just inside a system you didn’t know how to read.
Failure is only an enemy when you refuse to learn from it.
Even science works this way.
Hypotheses. Tests. Adjustments. New attempts.
Growth is experimental.
So here’s a simple loop you can use anytime something doesn’t work:
First, Rest.
Calm your nervous system before analyzing anything.
Second, Reflect on facts only.
What actually happened? No stories attached.
Third, Find the insight.
What patterns are showing up?
Fourth, Adjust actions.
Not “try harder.” Try differently.
Fifth, Apply one micro action fast.
Small. Specific. Immediate.
Do that, and no experience will go to waste. It becomes data.
And data will keep you winning every single day.
Until next time, keep blooming,
Ruth
Reflect
- What past experience have you labeled a “waste” that might actually contain skills or insight you’re using today?
- Instead of asking “Why didn’t this work?” what could you ask to uncover a useful lesson?
Reframe
Old belief: “Failure means I made the wrong choice.”
New belief: “Failure means I’m running experiments as every successful person does.”
Nothing is wasted when you turn experience into understanding. That’s the real system.
In Other News
I created a free tool to help you do exactly what I described here: extract real direction from what didn’t go as planned. It’s called the From Plot Twist to Product Scorecard, and you can grab it free today.
I launched a podcast! Yay! You can check the first episode: Why Nothing You’ve Tried Was Wasted: A Systems Approach to Learning From Failure (for Creators) here.
The Content That Converts Bundle (affiliate link) is live! You can get 75+ thoughtful, practical digital products created to make your content life easier for free. The bundle is available from January 30th to February 8th, and you’ll have until February 22nd to download and redeem everything inside.
P.S. By the way, what is your favorite type of bread or pastry? Do we have any pumpernickel lovers in the house?
Join the conversation: Follow me on X.
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