September 10, 2010

Our Best Teachers...


We must abandon all hope of creating a better past.

Wise leaders learn from the past, are keenly aware of the present, and using what they know now, shape the future.

Some of our best teachers are the mistakes we make. Few of us slip-up intentionally. Yet we can spend an inordinate amount of time in regret and even remorse, and miss the valuable lesson that is right in front of us.

Tom Watson, founder of IBM epitomized the value of mistakes. His message to leaders of IBM was, “Double your rate of failure. You’re thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. It is better to aim at perfection and miss it than to aim at imperfection and hit it. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that’s where you’ll find success. On the far side.”

What have you learned today about a mistake you made yesterday? Emulate Mr. Watson by going to the far side. It might change your life.

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