If things are not failing, you are not innovating. –Elon Musk

Over the years, I have written far more things that make me shudder than make me proud.  As I continue to read over first drafts of old stories, screenplays and blogs, I can’t believe some of the drivel I have put on the written page.

But the creative process is expectedly messy and we have to work through many iterations and much discomfort before landing on more “print-worthy” concepts.  The old adage “all writing is re-writing” says it all.  And this is especially true when writing lyrics for songs.

Songwriting has to be precise and poetic.   Every word matters and must convey imagery and meaning.  One misplaced or lazy stanza can scuttle the entire process.  But rarely do those pearls of wisdom fall perfectly onto the written page.  Failure and embarrassment are frequent stops on the path to creative bliss.

As a case in point, the original lyrics in my song, “Resilient Angels”, contained the following cringe-worthy line:

“I jumped back in fear

A bandana and a red beard

But his words made me feel so keen.”

 

Really?  Is this the Barbershop Quartet?  Has anyone used the word “keen” since 1958? 

 

Several iterations later, I had the following stanza:

 

A red beard and bandana

And his words were like manna

Straight from the heavens, it seemed.

 

Not great.  But better!  It’s a process.  And so it is with our personal and professional lives.  Most of the things we create will be terrible.  But taking that first step, however painful, will set us on a path toward greatness.

Continuous Improvement is the Key

In our work lives, we rarely get it right on the first attempt.  Most business plans evolve over time,  based on rapidly shifting customer demands and advanced technologies.  PayPal, Instagram and Twitter all missed the mark with their original plans.  But, after many iterations and failures, they eventually got it right!

As managers, we often come in with pre-conceived notions about our team and a solid plan on how to maximize productivity.  But many times our assumptions are off.  Our team members will surprise us. And we have to be prepared to pivot accordingly.

As coaches, our gameplan can be solid and predictable, based on years of experience.  But a lopsided loss can make us look foolish.  What once seemed genius now seems antiquated.

We cannot rely on our initial draft to carry us throughout our careers.  Rapid change and shifting trends will lay waste to our original assumptions.  We have to constantly innovate.  We have to tweak our plans.    And we have to embrace the fact that most of what we originally created no longer applies.  Continuous improvement is the name of the game.

It’s Never Too Late to Get It Right

And the same is true in our personal lives.  We are not static creatures.  We may adopt one approach to parenting only to have it backfire in spectacular fashion.  We may embrace an initial group of friends only to find out we were running with the wrong crowd.  We may create an ideal for the “perfect” spouse, only to find our model is based on faulty assumptions.

Personal failure and heartbreak are painful reminders that our initial approach sometimes needs a major revision.  But we are never too old to learn from our mistakes.  We are never too old to write up a new draft.  We are never too old to embrace our failures and write a glorious new chapter in our lives.

We Can’t Be Passive

As painful as it is to admit our flawed ideas and assumptions, imagine how much worse it would be if we avoided embarrassment and failure altogether?  We never write a business plan for fear of looking foolish.  We never step into management for fear of letting down our team.  We never step up to lead for fear of being exposed as a fraud.  We never lay down rules with our children for fear of being wrong.  We never make friends or strive for love for fear of getting our hearts broken.

Does that sound like a resilient life?   We cannot live in a plastic bubble.   We cannot freeze like a deer in the headlights.  We cannot expect to be perfect.  Pain and embarrassment are the risks we take for living a life of purpose and action.

Most of the things we create in our journey will not work.  Some will be terrible.  Hindsight will make us look foolish.  But that doesn’t scare us.  That won’t stop us from taking action.  We will constantly improve.  We will eventually get it right.  And that is what makes our work so beautiful.