Daron PachecoCEO, Howdy Media · Brand Builder

Have you ever learned more from your failures than your successes?

14 Jul 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:20

In this vlog-style YouTube video, Daron Pacheco reflects on a dramatic shift in his life after a period of rapid career growth that peaked in 2025 with high‑visibility experiences such as appearing on Dance with the Stars and increased community engagement. He describes an abrupt health crisis that forced him to confront reduced energy and capability, prompting a spiritual reckoning in which he feels called to humility and surrender control. Pacheco cites Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture—specifically the line “experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted”—to illustrate how unmet expectations can become valuable learning moments rather than sources of disappointment. The narrative weaves personal triumph, vulnerability, and a philosophical lesson about embracing failure as a catalyst for growth.

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So, you know, things come up that we don't expect. I did so good for 4 years and I was like, man, I'm so happy and so content. Like just kept going up. And then 2025 was a really wonderful year for me. Had a lot of experiences, got to Dance with the Stars, a lot of community type stuff. And you get big, big, big elevate. Like people kind of know your name and then things just come crashing down. And it's like, okay, why, Lord? Um, went through some health stuff, still navigating that, trying to figure out how to do what I used to do without the energy that I had, with, you know, the ability. And, and I felt the Lord saying like, this is where you get your experience to be humbled, to kind of sit back, learn something from me. You can't be in control, you can't do it all yourself. Stop riding that high, like, just listen to me, like just slow down and listen, um, which was a good lesson to learn. But one of my favorite books, it's The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. One of his quotes is, experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted. And it's meant to be a positive, right? Because it'd be really easy to just constantly like chase perfection, chase this is good, this is the goal I set for myself. And when that doesn't happen, we're like, oh, like things are going to shit. It's like, no, you had a learning experience.