Day: June 10, 2017

There are many famously successful people who can attest to the veracity of the title:

Abraham Lincoln

Thomas Edison

Benjamin Franklin

Michael Jordan

Tiger Woods

Derek Jeter

Steve Jobs

Gen Stanley McChrystal

The three authors (okay, we’re not famous, but we’ve failed many times)

The list goes on and on.

I’ve been reminded of this reality multiple times this week. I think it’s important for a lot us to remember and reinforce with others that failing is not the end. In fact, failing is doing. Doing is necessary for succeeding. It’s the very rare exception that ANYONE does something perfectly the very first time. Athletes practices actions over 10,000 times just to build muscle memory in order to be able to be successful sometimes. Inventors design, build and test prototypes over and over until they get to something they think is acceptable. Artists paint and repaint brush strokes or pencil lines thousands of times in order to develop their eye for color, shading and perspective. Singers and musicians practice and rehearse relentlessly always trying to hone their craft and make it better.

Each time we do something we succeed. We succeed in making ourselves better for the next time we try that something. We learn something new with each attempt. We grow as a person with each attempt. We DO something every time we fail. Don’t stop doing things.

The title of this post is from the poem by Robert Frost – one of my favorites – and is a reflection on Frost’s past and his satisfaction of doing things his way. As our children go off and discover the world it’s important to remember to let them explore the road less traveled. It’s hard to watch your children go into the unknown and not worry, but it’s also important to let them make their own mistakes as well as their own victories.

The genesis of this post was listening to a young man’s parents telling (dictating) to him what he needed to do after graduation – to the point of how much time he would get off before starting work. The father had arranged a job for him and seemed rather pleased with the choice of vocation for his son – who just sat in silence.

Maybe the young man was happy with the road chosen for him – I’ll never know. I can’t help but wonder if the world lost a Picasso or a Hemingway because his choices were made for him and his true potential was never realized. What I want for our children is to see them grow into whatever their abilities allow them. I want them to take the road less traveled by – and as Frost said – that will make all the difference.