Leadership Thought: More Thoughts on Mistake Free Living or Why Doesn't Chirpy Sing Much Anymore?

Dear Friends,

Thanks for your overwhelming response to last week's article on "Making Mistakes.” I don't remember when I received as much reaction to any message I have shared as I did for that one. There must be a lot of 'mistake makers' among you and I wanted you to know I appreciated your unsolicited comments.

I want to thank you for coming to my defense. I felt like some of you were defending me because I had been criticized for 'mistake making' which would be untrue. I was simply recognizing and acknowledging that I am often guilty of not always self-correcting my grammatical and spelling flaws. 

I loved some of your comments, and I have taken the liberty of sharing a few of them.

"No need to apologize for typing errors. It happens to all of us. At this point, I am actually looking forward to seeing them. We love your leadership thoughts."

"Please keep doing 'what's important now' (WIN), all the mistakes included."

"The point is mistakes are a part of our existence. The fact is with or without the mistakes, you get the point across and share your valuable time with your readers. if we didn't make mistakes, there would be no erasers on pencils."

"Perfection is the enemy of done-substance over style."

"You just keep on making your mistakes, because I enjoy reading your messages each day, and I even look forward to seeing those mistakes. I rarely type something without several mistakes."

"We need to be more concerned about connecting with others than correcting others."

And my favorite, "You probably have no idea how encouraging your message is today. I am still recovering from a stroke in October - which has magnified my lack of perfection in most areas. Tempting to quit- your words and those of Coach Wooden's will push me to persevere and 'get back on the floor."

I enjoyed these comments and the others I received.

Maintaining relationships is critical to me, and whatever your comments-positive or negative- I appreciate hearing from you and knowing that we are still connected.

I often tell those who take the time to share their responses, "You keep reading and I'll keep writing."

I close with some of my favorite quotes and stories about mistakes.

"Don't mention a person's past mistakes when they are trying to change. That's like throwing rocks at them while they're struggling to climb a mountain." Anonymous

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." Oscar Wilde,

"You make mistakes. Mistakes don't make you." Maxwell Maltz.

"When someone does something wrong, don't forget all the things they did right." Anonymous

"When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don't repeat it." Paul Bear Bryant

"Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them." Bruce Lee

And my all-time favorite story told by Max Lucado and taken from The Take of The Tidy Oxcart by Chuck Swindoll.

A newspaper in San Diego told the story of a woman who had a little canary whom she affectionately named  Chirpy. This little bird brought all kinds of song and beauty into their home. 

One day while vacuuming, she thought, "My, the bottom of Chirpy's cage is dirty. I'll  just vacuum the bottom of the cage." 

While she was vacuuming the phone rang, and when she reached over for the phone, she lifted up the vacuum cleaner and it sucked Chirpy all the way down the tube, down to the little bag.  

Of course, she opened the vacuum cleaner and cut the bag open. And there was Chirpy inside trying to survive. 

She breathed a sigh of relief. But she thought, "Oh, he's so dirty." So, she put him under that faucet and ran water all over him. And then when she finished with him under the faucet, where he was about to drown, she dried him with a blow dryer. 

A newspaper reporter asked, "Well, what's he like now?"  

She replied, “Well, Chirpy doesn't sing much anymore." 

I hope this story brings you a laugh as it does for me every time I share it. 

So, to all you Chirpy's out there who feel like you've been through the ringer, 'or the vacuum tube.' I hope you'll never stop singing like Chirpy, and that at least today will be one that is Mistake Free.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom