On Making Mistakes as a Student
I hate making mistakes. I do. It's not so much that I hate being wrong. It's that I hate making silly mistakes, avoidable mistakes that shouldn't have happened in the first place.
I grew up playing volleyball competitively in high school. There's an old saying that goes, "volleyball is a game of mistakes." The team that can avoid most mistakes, while causing the other side to make mistakes would win.
Forced errors and unforced errors.
Forced errors were when the 6 foot 8 kid, would hit the ball so hard that you could barely get a hand on it, let alone correctly pass it back to your setter. It was an error that was forced by a tremendous play by your opponent.
An unforced error was missing a serve. It was an error that was made by no fault except your own.
"We can't win if you can't serve the ball!" I recall our coach yelling.
And so we developed a defensive mentality. A mentality to avoid making mistakes. Avoid the unforced errors. The problem is we always played it safe. When it was time to hit the ball more aggressively, we'd peel off a bit out of fear of hitting the ball out of the court.
I see this same mentality occurring in my own life, my fear of making the wrong move. A fear of making the wrong decision. A fear of making an unforced error. I get stuck, unable to make decisions or commit because of doubt that it may not be the right one.
But unlike volleyball, nobody is keeping score in life. It's filled with forced and unforced errors, but it isn't necessarily a game of mistakes.
Perhaps instead, it's a game of attempts. You need to simply try more things, more often.
We live in an age with the highest amount of opportunity, yet we fear it.
A 14-year old boy in high-school can start an online skateboard shop. He can design his boards, contact suppliers through Alibaba and revolutionize the skateboard industry.
A 21-year old filmmaker can get creative on YouTube. She can film, create and build a community, all while making a living as a 'YouTuber.' Living a more fulfilling life than the student who chose a major in accounting because the career seemed stable.
Never has a beginner artist had such an opportunity to build a career selling their art, teaching their craft, and building a community through social media.
Never has an entrepreneur had such access to manufacturers and suppliers, through a worldwide infrastructure.
Never have there been so many tribes and communities led by young and old, with no past leadership experience, but love for the community, and a passion that unites them.
There is a tribe for every leader who seeks to create.
There is an opportunity for every person who wants to lead.
The opportunity is no longer in scarcity.
Therefore leadership is no longer an opportunity.
It is a responsibility that you must all take to shape our world.
To create the impact you've dreamt of having.
Perhaps fearing to make a mistake, is the biggest mistake of them all.
