The Upside of Mistakes

Wally was 90 when we worked together on his Family Love Letter. He wasn’t ashamed to say that as a decision maker, he had made a fair number of mistakes over the years.

“Somebody told me at the very beginning, you can't always be right. So when you make a mistake, don't try to hide it.

Consequently, whenever I made a mistake, I immediately called the people who I reported to so they would hear about it from me, not from somebody else.”

Wally made himself vulnerable and showed his confidence.

“When I’d call to report my mistake, not once did somebody ever say to me, How could you be so goddamn stupid?

One hundred percent of the time they said, Really? How do we fix it? “

You’ve probably heard the saying, “If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not taking risks.” This usually applies to work.

But Wally took it a step further:

“Being afraid of making mistakes can hold you back from living life.”

As someone who is trying - or least wanting - to take more risks, that is wisdom I can use.