Randall Stutman isn't a household name, but he’s the guy many people who are household names turn to. He has been a coach to many top CEOs and politicians.
Stutman's parents taught him that “you’re only as good as you’re willing to be bad.” He has tried to live by this lesson.
Stutman explains, “The fact that you’re not going to be good at something or that you’re going to fail at something—that’s OK. Because you’re never going to get good unless you’re willing to be bad.”1
Stutman's willingness to be bad along the way has allowed him to become very good at what he does.
I recently heard of a teacher who frames the effort to learn a language around making enough mistakes:
"To learn to speak, read, and write a language well it takes 200,000 mistakes made by you in front of others, many of which will be funny, frustrating, and even embarrassing. But there is no getting around that number, so you might as well get them over with as soon and as fast as possible."
Embarrassment is part of the process of achieving many of the most meaningful things in life. It has a great return on investment.
We might as well start soon and take advantage of the compounding interest.
H/T to Billy Oppenheimer, who sends out one of my favorite newsletters.