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A couple of days ago I talked about making mistakes – or, sometimes, things simply going wrong… how it’s important to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back in the game. In life, particularly as you start to make progress towards your dreams, the ability to bounce is essential.
They say that something like 90% of all first time business start ups fail. That’s huge. They also say that something like 90% of all second attempts to create a business succeed. You think they might have learned something crucial the first time around? You bet. Many successful people have been successful and then lost it all. And then built back an even bigger success story.
It’s difficult to make it on our own, though. It’s difficult to bounce. Richard Buckminster Fuller, the incredible engineering genius, once famously said:
“Geniuses are just people who had good mothers.”
By which I think he meant that they had someone to encourage them, to give them great stuff to work with, and to pick them up when they screwed up. Because that’s one of the hallmarks of a genius – a tendency to screw things up.
I loved this video from Procter & Gamble – partly because it showed how many times you need to be fail before you become great at something (you think ice skaters are BORN knowing how to skate?), partly because it shows how to pick yourself up and keep on going, and partly because it shows you how you need someone on your side to help pick you up, wipe the tears away and shove you back on the ice.
I’d encourage you to think about who’s around you. Who do you have in your life that will encourage you, pick you up, dust you down and set you off in the right direction again? I was blessed with great parents. And even more blessed with wise children who are 100% on my side (and not afraid of telling the truth either). And I have some incredible, amazing friends who I’ve allowed to speak into my life.
I’ve learned to trust the folk around me. Because I know they love me. And I hope I can be that much of a blessing for other people too. Because when we encourage each other to be the best that we can be – then something amazing happens.
So this week, look out for someone who needs encouraging. Someone who needs reminding to get back on the ice. Someone who feels a little lost. You don’t have to give them the answers – they’ve got those already, deep inside them – you just have to remind them that someone cares – remind them that they can succeed – remind them that they are great, that they can win – that they are – like each and every one of us – amazing.
