"I am always doing that which I cannot do in order that I may learn how to do it."

                                                Pablo Picasso

Dare to Make Mistakes!

I have always told my employees that I won't have anyone working for me who isn't making mistakes. Why? Because as Albert Einstein said, "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." They aren't challenging themselves, being innovative, creative and curious. They aren't stretching beyond their self-limiting boundaries, learning and growing. To risk losing is part of winning, but never losing means never achieving our goals.

Nothing of any consequence has ever been accomplished by waiting to do it so well, no one could find fault with it. In matters of honor and integrity, I believe we should not make success or failure the deciding factors by which we live. To be worthy of your own respect, I believe you must follow the path of your convictions, a path solidly based in the values of love, mutual respect, honesty and trust.

You must risk the disapproval and resistance of others and maintain a strength of conviction that through your example and commitment, you can influence others. This will inevitably result in sometimes falling short of your desired outcome, but perhaps the greatest mistake of all is to sacrifice who we are for who we can become.

Whenever you step into the unknown, you need courage. No matter what course you decide upon, there will always be someone to tell you that you are wrong, someone who will tell you that you should never have done it. Because of the discomfort of the risk and the ensuing difficulties, we are sometimes tempted to believe our critics. But 20 years from now, I believe you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't dare to do than by the things you did do. As George Bernard Shaw wrote,

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."

Mistakes are a part of a life well lived, that is, if you learn from them. I have also told my employees if they keep making the same mistake over and over, then, "We need to talk!"

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