Do You LOVE Stumbling Out Of The Gate?
AND why you should?
Goal: Discuss how sometimes stumbling becomes a setup for success.
I have always had the flexible mindset. When I hit a wall, I love to figure out out how to get around it. To get around the wall might require to go over, under, look for a door, around it, etc…
Why do I love it?
Hitting these walls allows me to learn and become better. The more figurative walls that I hit the faster I learn and get better.
Let me tell you a story of stumbling into success.
When I first started my teaching career I was assigned a junior level engineering course that was required for both electrical and mechanical engineers. I had never taken the course in my life so I was a bit nervous. Before teaching I did not even want to present to a group bigger than 2–3 people. I hated it.
I walk in with the roster of 75 students memorized. I was readdddddyyyy…
After introducing myself I started with the As I announced the student’s name in order to form a connection between the name and face of the person.
I was doing really well until I got to the last name Bonner. The way I pronounced it made everyone in the class laugh and I started turning red. After that I made a joke that the last name could be worse and the class laughed and I turned even more red.
That stumble out of the gate has paid me handsomely. It has allowed me to not fear public speaking and leading large complex teams. Mainly because I had to Be Adaptive and overcome the idea that my next lecture was going to be a disaster. I fell in love with teaching after that night.
This week I started my T-Shirt business. I am always seeing cool catchy phrases and pictures. I love to save and later review them.
My first design was Be ADDAPTIVE… Yup I stumbled and no one commented loudly. I was so excited to create the shirt that I did not notice that I had inserted an extra D.
Is ADDAPTIVE better than ADAPTIVE?
That is the question I wondered out loud. Once I spotted the mistake I could not stop seeing it. I thought maybe having the ADD part was cool because it implies that you are adding something while adapting. In the end I decided to redo my first offer.
Why admit the mistake?
One of the places I want to sell my t-shirts if Merch by Amazon. In their rules they state that they do not want misspelled t-shirts. SO it was a no brainer to modify it.
I plan to design t-shirts and accessories for at least the next year. Maybe I will reach an audience? Maybe I will get better? It is a pursuit like writing that I am willing to invest my time in testing and failing. The efforts towards these endeavors are better spent than sitting in front of a TV eating chips.
Many years ago the chairman of IBM at that time was asked for his advice for success. He offered, “Fail twice as fast.” Brilliant!!!
If I can only stumble faster…. LOL
Some of my greatest successes have come after stumbles. I hope you go back and look at yours and see the same pattern. Stay flexible and adaptive and you will get through the stumbles.
My seven cents….(this is what I earned from Medium.com for Nov. 2020)
I got to go…my future self alarm went off
Robert Trajkovski is professional with experience in leading people and projects in Steel/ Power, Refining, Chemicals, Industrial Gasses, Software, Consulting and Academia. He has worked for both owners and engineering companies. In addition, he has instructed 73+ courses at several institutions and often offers his courses for free on LinkedIn.
