The baseball great Lou Brock once said, “Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad and I’ll show you a guy I can beat everyday.”
Think about that. Lou’s words are a key to success. It takes many tries – and sometimes looking a bit silly – to master skills and become great at what you love. It’s true in sports, it’s true in music and it’s true in life.
When reading autobiographies about professionals who made a difference, you often see a pattern of failure and setbacks and realize they did not mind looking bad on their journey.
I try to instill this lesson in my boys. And, thankfully, they seem to have it down. Recently, my 10-year old son was asked to fill in and sing with my 13-year-old son’s rock band. My 10-year old accepted the challenge because he knew it was okay to fail; it’s part of the process of learning… and learning’s cool. (By the way, he did awesome!)
When I was young, I wasn’t quite so fearless. Like many kids, I did not try new things for fear of how I would look to others and myself. Today, taking chances is part of my daily routine. I recently tested for my black belt in Taido Karate and I ca tell you it was ugly sparring against my sensei, a fourth-degree black belt and former mixed marshal arts competitor, but I persevered and received my belt.
Similarly, our bands are not afraid to look bad during the learning process. From music to clothes to dance moves, we continually try new things. Not every move is pretty the first time, but it’s how we get ahead.
One of my teachers once told me, “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you get good.”
So, go out there and try new things even if you look silly… you might just learn something along the way.
Dennis
