Learn From Your Mistakes

Do you learn from your mistakes?
Learn From Your Mistakes - Analyze your mistakes. You've already paid the tuition, you might as well get the lesson

Analyze your mistakes. You’ve already paid the tuition, you might as well get the lesson.

– Tim Fargo

Who is Tim Fargo

According to Wikipedia, Tim Fargo is an American author, keynote speaker, angel investor, and entrepreneur. He made his money by cofounding and then selling a company that investigated insurance fraud.
I know Tim (not personally, you know what I mean) as the creator of Tweet Jukebox, now called Social Jukebox (affiliate link) because it handles more than just Twitter. I use it and love it.
I’m writing this post on a Wednesday night. WordPress will automatically publish it at 9:15 tomorrow morning. Then Social Jukebox will automatically share it throughout the day on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I’ll set it all up tonight and be free to work on other things.

Learn From Your Mistakes

Now back to Tim’s quote
There are two ways that you can look at a mistake.

  1. An error, maybe even a failure
  2. A lesson, a stepping-stone to your success

This is a personal development website, so you probably already know which of those two options I recommend.
Let’s look at the first one though, just to be complete.

A Mistake is an Error

Of course it is an error on the surface. But if all you see is an error and leave it that, it as no value.
Even worse, some people see the error and quit. It’s too hard. I can’t do it. I’m a failure.
Well, no, you’re not a failure. The project may have been a failure, but a person can never be a failure.
The project doesn’t have to be a failure though. All that takes is one decision. Don’t quit. You only fail when you give up.

A Mistake is a Lesson

When you see your mistake as a lesson you give it value that helps you to eventually complete the project as a success.
Like Tim Fargo said in the quote, you’ve already paid the tuition. The mistake is the tuition. Paid in full.
Would you go to a university, pay your tuition in full, then walk out without attending even the first class? Of course not.
Analyze the mistake. What did you do right? What did you do wrong? Is there anything you can change next time to achieve your desired result?
That’s all it takes to turn a mistake into a lesson. Easy peasy, right? (Yes, I looked up how to spell peasy, and the spellcheck didn’t complain either. I had no idea “peasy” was a real word.)
My advice is to learn from your mistakes and keep on going toward your goal. If you see it in your mind, you can achieve it.
Speaking of keeping on, check out yesterday’s quote of the day about discipline.

And Your Bonus Quote Is…

Confidence is what we get when we take fear, face it and replace it.

– Tim Fargo

 

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