Two Types of Entrepreneurs

Oops!

When I was in high school I got into a little trouble which resulted in me getting removed from the cross country team. The coach called me at home to tell me the bad news. It was a phone call that has stuck with me ever since.

He said to me, “There are two types of people in the world; those who learn from the mistakes of others, and those who have to make the mistakes themselves.” He then went on to state the obvious and tell me that I fell into the latter category. Thanks coach. :-/

The thing is, he was right. I never forgot that conversation and would often retell the story, usually self-identifying with the unlucky lot who have to make the mistakes themselves. Hey, at least you can learn from my mistakes.

Then a few years ago, I realized that I can in fact learn from other people’s mistakes. I decided to strive to learn from the mistakes of others. Now, I can share with you the secret to learn from the mistakes of others.

Be humble.

It is one thing to not be aware of the mistakes of others. It is another to see someone make a mistake and think you can take the same course of action and end up with a different outcome. That mentality is incredibly arrogant. Instead, I try to ask myself, why would it be different for me.

Maybe I can find opportunity down there in that canyon, but I should at least listen to those who have been down in similar canyons before and then ask myself that one question:
Why would it be any different for me?