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Anyone out there ever made a mistake? Anyone out there ever dropped a doozy right in the middle of something important, something that is seemingly going well? Anyone out there ever been handed something glorious and pristine and perfectly manicured in life and then, unapologetically, and without hesitation, shit all over it? Well, I have. And if you say you haven’t, then you’re either living a mundane existence where you contribute nothing to the evolution of mankind or (brace yourself) … you’re a liar.
That’s right, everybody at one point or another has shat the proverbial bed. I’ll take it a step further and say that the greatest among us all have done it the most. In a super-twisted, metaphoric kind of way, think of ambition as the bran muffin and pumpkin spiced latte of success. In large doses, you’re bound to jar something loose. Therefore, inevitably, if you’re ever going to achieve greatness at some point you will eventually and completely meirda la cama amigo.
The beauty of it is you’re in great company. Billy Shakespeare? Shit the bed. Gandhi? Shit the bed. Socrates? Shit the bed. Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., Bono, Oprah, Snooki and yes, Kyle Dean Houston. See what I’m saying? Quite a distinguished list of folks, huh? What’s all this mean, you ask. Well, if you haven’t royally screwed the pooch, you haven’t done anything of consequence. (Now there’s a bumper sticker for ya’.)
This certainly isn’t all to say, “Hey don’t put any effort into shit-the-bed prevention.” That would be ridiculous. The idea is to mitigate those mistakes on your way to the top. Become successful and smart and (add your preferred adjective here). But falling flat on your face is, in fact, how we become smarter. I would never stand on the mountaintop blowing trumpets and screaming, “Get out there and shit the bed!” But, if you want the 4-1-1 about chasing a dream, here it is. It is not promised that you will succeed, that people will accept what you’re doing, that it will be respected or liked or even noticed. The only thing inevitable is you will, at some point, eventually shit the bed. So, well…, I guess…, get out there and shit the bed. (I guess I would say it. But not from a mountaintop. That’s just weird.)
So here comes the advice, and believe me, I’m highly qualified to speak on matters of failing miserably. The most empowering thing you’re ever going to do is own it. Just spent your kids’ college fund on a pipe dream that will never come to fruition? Own it. Quit crying. You’re not the first. Now fix it. Just lost your girlfriend because you were too needy and never did the dishes? Cool. Own it. Your next relationship will be much more fulfilling because you essentially took this one for the team, the future team, the one out there waiting now that you are initiated. Blew a big sale that would’ve put your company on the map? Perfect. Now you’re a big boy. This single lesson, if you own it, will make you the most valuable employee in any company you work for. Trust me. You were too complacent anyway.
And here’s the real nugget. A thing that has taken me decades to truly understand. You want to feel strong? You want an invincible, clad-iron, I-dare-you-to-knock-this-off-my-shoulder mentality? Then own the possibilities of a couple of future missteps as fervently as you hope for future success. When you understand this at the depth that I do, you will see how fear shifts to power. Whether you’re in the throes of your crazy idea, or you’re standing on the ledge ready to take that big plunge, either way if you want to turn fear into instantaneous power, then tell yourself you will be successful, you will be extraordinary, but you know you could screw up severely but you will own it. You will fix it. You will deal with it. Because you are in control.
And don’t kid yourself; you’ve got chutzpa kid!
Maybe this will help: I am a guy who pulled out of a very lucrative career at the age of 48 years old to drive across country, with my family, gamble my life’s savings on something I’ve never done before. But I own this. Period.
And almost always, that’s all I need.