We all make mistakes.
Little mistakes. Huge mistakes, Stupid mistakes. Lots of mistakes.
That’s because we are human and we’re not perfect. They are part of life itself. As long as mankind is present on this planet, mistakes will always happen.
Most of us get angry or worried when we make a mistake. Usually this is because there may be consequences for our error, or because there already is. Typically then we fear making a mistake as this means something has gone wrong or definitely soon will.
We just don’t like or welcome mistakes. In any walk of life.
Except one.
The higher minded among us. The big goal setters and go getters. The ones with aspirations and a determined vision who know mistakes will happen as part of their endeavours.
Who are these people? The successful achievers.
And here’s why they love mistakes so much.
Mistakes SHOULD happen.
Everyday people tend to believe mistakes shouldn’t happen.
We beat ourselves up when we make a faux pas. Or get frustrated at our silliness. And when dealing with companies and organisation who mess up, we get annoyed and disappointed.
But, not everyone does.
There are those whose minds see mistakes as one more step towards their aims. One more thing learned, discovered, or given feedback. For them mistakes are merely updates. These are the people who go on to bigger things because they don’t allow themselves to be held back by failures or errors.
And there are some very famous examples you will know well.
One inventor famously made the quote, ‘I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work’.
That fabulous attitude was owned by Thomas Edison. The pioneer and creator of the lightbulb. But what is lesser known about him is that he held 1,093 patents on various inventions. From the phonograph to a talking doll, a durable battery to the electrographic vote recorder (an early voice recorder…very early!),
Edison demonstrated a clear cut don’t-give-up mentality. His notebooks contained over 4,000 various ideas and inventions he believed could be built.
While he was a great innovator, another man was a great sport.
Always take the shot.
The typical guy or girl on the street is reluctant to risk much.
They may have a very attractive business proposition. They may have a new product. Or simply a fresh service they have seen a gap in the market it can fill. But they hold back actually rolling the dice and taking a shot at it.
Others have no choice, shots are part of the very game they play.
Famous people become famous because they do famous things.
Witness the story of a young basketball hopeful in the 1980’s. At the age of 18 he was drafted to play for the Chicago Bulls. The pressure was immense at the pro level. But, he was an instant hit. The Bulls made the play offs that season after missing them for a number of years and he went on to lead all the averages in the NBA.
Roll forwards to the end of his career. When he finally retired at the start of this century his roll call of honours was staggering. Six NBA champion medals, 14 times NBA All start player, and 10 times NBA scoring champion among numerous accolades. This was Michael Jordan.
But to achieve all that he had to make a huge amount of mistakes. As he noted in this famous quote –
‘I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed’.
Even the world’s best ever knows mistakes builds champions.
Meaningful mistakes.
The key to success is the meaning behind them.
Errors and mishaps doing silly stunts just to get TikTok traffic perhaps isn’t truly meaningful. Neither is having an accident by driving too fast to show off your sports car. Dumb stuff that leads to dumb results.
The pursuit of higher and nobler goals which creates mistakes, well that’s a far more meaningful endeavour. Setbacks in the process of reaching for greater goals and personal good should be expected. And definitely viewed as signs that you are moving ahead.
Attempting to build a brand around your cartoon character design and your first few marketing promos bomb. Review, gather yourself, and go again, it’s par for the course. Seeking being a culinary expert in the use of spices in food and you can’t quite perfect the right combination balance for your signature dishes. Test and taste, test and taste, and they will eventually come together.
Anything that leads to a lasting advance will contain mistakes without fail. They are how you get there.
Such personal projects are where mistakes meet meaning meet magic in the end.
Mistakes are the anchor for all the most successful souls that pulls them back so they can find ways up the progress ladder. But only when they are scaling the heights to a milestone not a plaything.
And that, my friend, is what you have to do too.
Make mistakes with real meaning!
Success is a mistake away.
Could a mistake make your life?
Yes, 100% so!
But the vast majority of us are scared of those mistakes. We fear being embarrassed or losing all our money, of having a dreamed dashed or even that people won’t like us if we become a success.
That’s OUR mistake.
Mistakes mature us and our plans and ripen them into something that we can harvest. No-one who has succeeded has done so immediately. They have had to commit time and efforts to realise their wish. So expecting to be an overnight winner is the real error if there is one in our minds. The failed attitude that isn’t prepared to fail even for one day to live a great life further on down the line.
Mistakes mean we are one day, one improvement closer to what we yearn for. And that’s the proverbial journey of a thousand miles the famous Chinese philosopher Confucius taught the world. A step, not into unknown, but into the bigger future we want to experience.
Don’t let yourself be someone who won’t make a mistake.
Because that’s the biggest mistake keeping you from every success you want.
References – thomasedison.org – Thomas Edison Inventions.
Picture attributions – free to use under Pixabay Content License by ransharir and Feygrace and michael20056 and silviarita.
