Learning from our mistakes: Making Lemonade out of Lemons

We all make mistakes. If you plan to be successful in business, you are going to have to stretch and try different approaches to the old business paradigm. Some people are so afraid of making a mistake they limit the things they will try because of fear. I believe mistakes are good things IF you pay attention and learn from them. So here’s my story.

Oscar Wilde said: That imitation is the sincerest form of form of flattery. It didn’t seem difficult to replicate the delicious cilantro dip I purchased for a ridiculous amount of money at the Farmer’s Market. After all, now I’m into eating raw foods, and this was cilantro, garlic and olive and flax oil. How hard could it be?

It was not as easy as I thought, and I obviously put in WAY too much garlic to the amount of oil. It was essentially inedible because of power of the garlic. I figured I’d be able to visit my friends about 2 weeks after eating this dip without being shown the door, or having them put on gas masks if I faced and spoke to them!

But the ingredients were good: great in fact. It was all organic, with fabulous olive oil, expensive flax oil. Hand picked fresh organic cilantro, and the juiciest freshest garlic with purple paper like skin protected the garlic cloves. The original dip I bought was too good to be believed! Almost as good a chocolate!

But my version: UGH! But I didn’t want to throw it away. All of a sudden the thought of taking the dip and combining it came to me. That plain tasting salad dressing…. hmm. After a half a teaspoon and a good shaking, it tasted exceptional as a marinade on that grilled shrimp . All of a sudden, my mind was filled with so many other uses for my overpowering dip.

Life is pretty much like that. I think we all learn best from our errors in judgment. In fact, the worse the error, the less likely you are to ever repeat it. I’ve heard it said that the things that don’t kill you make you strong. The trick is not judging ourselves for a mistake but instead looking for what you can learn.

In business, sometimes an idea that is overpowering alone can be combined, parts used, different applications applied, enlarge, reduce, combine, arrange, brainstorm. Don’t dismiss something totally if it didn’t work out.

Think about what inspired you, and you will probably find out that your first instincts were good. But success takes work and reworking. In fact, consider this: If you’ve done something the same way right from the beginning, it’s probably the wrong way! That’s because you never looked for a better way of achieving your goal. And the more difficult it is to reach your goal, the more valuable it is to you. You EARNED it! You understand why it works. It strengthens your self-esteem and trust in yourself.

So try and revel in your failures. Look for what you’ve learned, and how life is a grand experiment and enjoy every attempt you make. Don’t be afraid of failing: you can’t succeed if you don’t try!