Failure is not an Option...

I was wandering around over at Mark Terry's blog where he said something about NASA and that their code is "Failure is not an Option".
The post was mostly about Stephen Parrish and his new book The Tavernier Stones. (Quick! Everyone needs to order a copy right now!) and how he helped nudge Stephen to the place he needed to be to find success.
This toggled me over to Stephen's blog and how he got published. He's done more rewrites then I ever thought possible. But more than that...he never gave up.
Failure was not an option.
It was the push I needed.
It's time to get back on the horse and if I can't find the old horse. Maybe I'll just have to write me a new one. I think I'm going to take back my 20 minute rule (every time I have 20 minutes I write--something) and just write. Good or bad I'm just going to write.
I think when real life throws us curves it's easy to forget our motivation and what moves us forward toward our own successes. Imagine if Stephen Parrish had given up at one of his many rewrites?
I think sometimes we need to remember that Failure is not an option we're going to accept.
The dream you hold could change the world.

A man is not a success because...

"A man is not a success because he has never failed, but because failure has never stopped him."
I don't know who said that but they are wise words for anyone. Especially writers.
I'm one of those who can't stop writing. Even when I wasn't pursuing publication I would just write for the sheer joy of writing.
Stuff pops into my head and I HAVE TO get it down. I would be nicer if I could make money on it, but I still can't stop.
Success came to Edison after he failed many times. When asked about it he said he didn't fail, he just had 99+ versions of the light bulb that didn't work.
I have many that "didn't work" in drawers, boxes under the bed and in the attic but I'm still writing and pursuing publication.
What about you? Do you have manuscripts you stowed in boxes never to be seen again and how do you feel about them?
Or are did you write one book and working at perfecting it?