FAIL! Fall down a lot!
Someone once asked me "Warren, how did you get so good at ice skating?" My answer was 'I fell down a lot!" I wanted to skate, I wanted to be better at skating, I wanted to be able to skate well enough that I could play ice hockey with my college buddies. So I went to the rink a lot and I fell down a lot. Falling down taught me what didn't work; and it taught me what it meant to get up and try again.
Watching the better skaters whipping past me helped too! It wasn't just because I could see how they were crossing over or skating backwards. It was as much because as an eighteen year old there were six year old kids skating circles around me and helping me up when I fell. Slightly embarrassing ... but more a boost in confidence! If they could do it I figured I could do it. It was inspiration.
After I was able to stand and skate forward I could have stopped trying. But remember, my goal was to be able to play ice hockey with my friends. This meant learning how to skate faster, skate backwards, turn and yes ... STOP! In order to achieve my goal I only had one choice - to keep trying new things and yes, to fall down.
Had I given up, I never would have been able to play intramural hockey with my buddies. I never would have been voted "most improved" (there was no where to go but up). And I never would have had the career highlight in my memory of checking one of my opponents over the wall into his own bench. It's possible that I could have scored a goal or two, but that check is what I remember most and my buddies' reactions!
So if you want to get better, keep failing, keep falling down!
Have a great day!
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