Nov 30, 2009
I remember growing up in the eighties and listening to Billy Joel. He was pretty popular back then. I saw the “Storm Front” tour at Maple Leaf Gardens. There is line from a Billy Joel song that says “You learn more falling flat on your face then you ever will in school.” That line has stuck with me for 25 years.
Yesterday was the annual Grey Cup football game in Canada. The Montreal Alouettes won the game on a last second field goal. They also lost the game on a last second field goal. You see the other team, the Roughriders, had sent out too many men and were called for a penalty just as the first kick missed the uprights and the Roughriders won. Then didn’t win. Montreal got a second chance and didn’t miss. Now they won!
The look of sadness was so clear on the losing players faces. They just thought they had won, they jumped, screamed and celebrated. Then they cried, yes some were in tears.
I know it’s just a game. For these players though, it could have been a moment that they won’t ever have again. After it was all over they interviewed the coach responsible for the mistake. He said something that really resonated with me.
“It was a mistake, I take full responsibility for it. If I have the chance to be in this situation, it won’t happen again.”
Incredible response, such poise. He admitted he made a mistake, took full responsibility and learned from it! That’s great. You can’t teach mistakes in school, the real life hard lessons are so powerful. It’s how you deal with them that matters. Yes they hurt sometimes, but, if you pick yourself up, dust off the dirt and pain, you learn.
Be a leader, learn from your mistakes! It’s never too late to start.
Posted by Stu Saunders in Leadership on Nov 30, 2009 at 2:30 pm | Permanent Link | Comments (0)
