Something Really Unexpected

I recently had a wonderful experience with the power of a handwritten note.  Late last year I had to have eye surgery.  While in many ways it was routine, I was a bit freaked out as it was “eye” surgery.  I took great pains to select a competent surgeon.  I primarily used internet resources to gain a sense of his competence.  Well, the day came, and thankfully everything went well.  Now my vision is significantly improved.

Several weeks later a small envelope appeared in our mailbox with the surgeons return address on it.  I assumed it was the bill, but when I opened it my jaw dropped.  It was a handwritten note thanking me for choosing him as my doctor.  I was dumbfounded.  If your experience with medicine has been anything like mine, communication from a doctor or hospital is usually “you still owe us money.” (That came later.) Not once, in more then 50 years, have I received a personal note from a doctor.  His handwritten note had a huge impact.  Now, even more, I will recommend him to anyone I know who has an eye issue.
 

Success and Failure are Inseparable 

C.S Lewis wrote that, “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.”  A fingerpost is a post bearing one or more signs, often terminating in a pointing finger.  Our failures are finger posts.  They provide needed direction and increase our understanding or knowledge.  So failure really is a guide and a gateway to success. 

As you move forwarding in pursuit of your prize, keep these five realities in mind:

1. Failure increases empathy
2. It is not about other people, you own it
3. Heat assures the outcome
4. Prepare for the recoil 
5. Success and failure are inseparable

Always Fail-Forward

I have never fired a gun but I have observed that for a first-timer the biggest thing they experience is the recoil from the blast. Frankly, it can be painful if they don’t hold the weapon properly. Failure has its own recoil experience. Shock and fear are the most common expressions. We feel shock because we didn’t anticipate that we would fail and fear because pain makes us want to avoid that feeling in the future.  Benjamin Franklin’s advice, “Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.”  When we fail we must not recoil, but instead fail-forward.