Learning is all about … perfection, doing it right, not having anything go wrong … right? In today’s society it seems we don’t give ourselves permission to learn, to try, and to fail. Some great advances have come from failure, from pasteurized milk to postit notes. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/postit.htm
This week David Seidler at 72 won an Oscar award for writing The King’s Speech. He quipped that his father said he was a “late bloomer.” http://movies.sky.com/oscars-speech-david-seidler
Life is about trying. We don’t have to hit the lottery every time. Few people do. Michael Jordan got cut from his high school team. Abraham Lincoln had many failures before becoming the greatest US President. Watch this short youtube about other famous people who were thought to be failures. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hz_s2XIAU&feature=player_embedded
Failing to try is almost trying to fail. Without failure, there’s no learning. Without making a mistake, there’s no where to improve. Without risk, there’s no reward.
Many corporate leaders, when told a new product failed and asked what they would do to the project manager, said they just gave them an expensive education – why would they want to give up on them? Whether learning is expensive or cheap, giving it a chance is what counts.
So go out and do your best. But don’t worry if it’s not perfect, if you don’t win the award, or if it is a flop. The key is to learn from it, not repeat (the same) mistakes, and continue to grow, try, and eventually, even if it takes until you’re 72, to win. And to continue learning throughout.
One of my favorite quotes: the goal of life is to grow until you go! More in my next blog.
I like this, since, in my 60’s, I’m not “there” yet, and I don’t know for sure where “there” is.