Like Ray Bradbury's Martian-chameleon, I act like a Famous Person in front of user groups, like a Sagacious Mentor in the company of younger designers, or a Creative Genius in the presence of the press. And the dangers are all the greater because I want to believe these people, to be the unreal creature of their fantasies. Failure is a lonely experience. People cluster close to you in triumph and avoid you in failure. They treat your failure with either accusatory silence or sympathies that only confirm the magnitude of the disaster.
Failure is an eye whose penetrating stare cuts through every rationalization.
No amount of explanation, no mature self-analysis can dispell the simple truth of failure. Failure rides with two companions, Cynicism and Bitterness. And I have found blame in myself, too. By failing, I have betrayed and discredited my own ideals. My best and finest effort has only served to reveal the bankruptcy of my most deeply held values.