I am reading a copy of Seth Godin’s Poke the Box that was given to me as a surprise gift a few years back by Mr. Jeff Sipes of Blue Water Credit. Thanks Jeff! Anyway, there is a small segment entitled No free lunch that goes like this:
“Of course, the challenge of being the initiator is that you will be wrong. You’ll pick the wrong thing, you’ll waste time, you’ll be blamed.
That’s why being the initiator is valuable.
Most people shy away from challenge. They’ve been too abused, they’re too fearful, they hold back, they’re happy to let someone else take the heat.
Initiative is scarce, hence valuable.
Ditch digging is not scarce. It’s not hard at all to find manual labor at minimum wage, which is precisely why manual labor gets paid minimum wage.
It’s extremely difficult to find smart people willing to start useful projects. Because sometimes what you start doesn’t work. The fact that it doesn’t work every time should give you confidence, because it means you’re doing something that frightens others.”
I like this because we definitely must resist the urge to be comfortable and secure all the time. A little failure is healthy!