It’s very important that you learn something from all your experiences. In his short autobiography renowned American speaker Dr Herb True sums up learning from experience.
Chapter 1 – I walk down a street, there’s a huge hole in the sidewalk. I fall in; it’s not my fault. It takes forever to get out.
Chapter 2 – I walk down the same street, there’s a huge hole in the sidewalk, I pretend not to see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe it’s the same hole. But it’s still not my fault. It takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3 – I walk down the same street, there’s a huge hole in the sidewalk, I see it, I fall in – it’s a habit. But my eyes are open. I know where I am, I admit it’s my fault, I get out immediately.
Chapter 4 – I walk down the same street, there’s a deep hole in the sidewalk, and I walk around it.
Chapter 5 – I walk down a different street.
The story depicts an eventual change of behaviour that avoids the same mistake being consistently repeated. This same learning pattern applies to your experiences in business. Don’t make the same mistake twice. There are a whole lot of new mistakes out there just waiting to be made… mistakes you can learn from!
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