Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.
If I am starting to sound like a broken record, it is because you have heard me say this no less than twenty times in the last few months. Mistakes are good things. They are not something you strive to make, but they are not something you want to shy away from. The word mistake is synonymous with the word failure, and failing remains your fastest way to progress. There, I said it again.
Think back to when you first mounted your two-wheel ride (bike). You did not master the concept the first time you saddled up. Somebody, probably one of your parents, urged you to continue pedaling after you skinned your knee once or twice trying to find your balance. (If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.)
Then one day, as if by magic, you began to roll.
Learning to ride a bike is hard enough. Learning how to turn a profit in your business today is also a formidable challenge. But it is not impossible. All you need to do is initiate a proven formula, and then learn something new each time you screw something up.
“Don’t be silly, Mike,” I can hear many of you saying. “Our job is to succeed; not to fail.” I agree. But doesn’t it make sense to succeed as fast as you can, by design? Of course it does.
Then you must become experienced. And as hard as you wish, hope, and pray, experience does not come without a price. It is the result of a great deal of consistent, focused action directed toward a worthwhile objective.
And here is a bonus idea for you (perhaps just a simple reminder): once you get your “ducks in a row,” and understand the steps needed to be taken, your efforts will begin to take on a life of their own. You will find that you will be actually enjoying the learning process, since you won’t be beating yourself up every time you come up short.
Okay! Many of you have been waiting for this analogy, so I won’t disappoint. The hardest thing in sports, according to me, is hitting a baseball traveling at 95 mph with a spinning action causing it to change direction on its way to the plate. The very best in baseball fail to hit the “pearl” seven out of ten times. A .300 batting percentage ranks among the league’s best. I am just as quick to point out that running a successful business today is often harder than winning the batting title.
Message: Continue to gain experience by making more mistakes. Keep swinging. Fail faster. Fail more often. Fail with a purpose, but always fail while keep your eye on the ball.
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club. Send for details.
