Belief

The importance of making mistakes to achieving success

04/20/2025 by Roy Sutton

Today, I want to explore the importance of making mistakes, particularly concerning achieving success

As children, we’re often taught that making mistakes is a bad thing.

For instance, many parents will actively discourage their children from doing anything that might lead to them making what, from the parents’ standpoint, appears to be a serious mistake.

Would this be an experience with which you’re familiar, dear reader? Well, I am, let me tell you.

Making mistakes:

The human experience:

However, I’ve learned that making mistakes is an essential element of the human experience as we progress down life’s highway.

There’s no road map for this journey; you learn as you go along and use what you’ve learned to improve your life as best you can.

As you journey down life’s highway, of course, you face an endless stream of choices at various times in your life.

A decision must be made each time you come to a fork in the road.

Daunting as this may be at times, you must always remember that every decision you make will be a valid one. It may not prove to be the right one, but that doesn’t make it any less valid based on what you knew at the time.

Allow me to explain.

Almost every decision you have to make will have been based on imperfect information. That’s the nature of life in the modern world.

So, all you can do is to use your judgement, weigh up the pros and cons, and act in good faith.

Inevitably, outcomes won’t always be favourable to you, but that doesn’t mean you’ve made a bad choice. It just means life has a lesson you must learn.

That’s the thing about mistakes: they’re just lessons that, over time, provide you with that valuable commodity known as experience.

And never, ever underestimate the importance of experience when it comes to achieving success.

Lessons learned won’t be forgotten:

What you learn from your mistakes is far more important to you than anything anyone can tell you in a classroom. You’ll never forget those things you’ve had to learn the hard way.

Life is not called the ‘School of Hard Knocks’ for nothing.

If you believe in yourself and your ability to use your judgement, and you accept that you’ll make mistakes occasionally, then you can cope with just about everything life throws at you.

Just make decisions to the best of your ability and knowledge, and then, if they don’t work out, just look for the lesson and learn it well.

Never let anyone tell you that making mistakes is a bad thing because it’s not.

Despite anything people will tell you to the contrary, there’s nothing wrong with making mistakes because that’s how you gain experience and that’s how you’ll grow in character.

Once is fine; twice is not:

That said, while making a mistake is perfectly reasonable, making the same mistake frequently is not.

Make a mistake once, and that’s fine; make it twice, and you’re starting to look a little bit careless. Make the same mistake three times, and people will start to have serious doubts about you.

An essential element of success:

No one ever mastered anything without making mistakes.

Whatever you choose to do in life, you start as a complete beginner like everyone else.

If you aim to be a success in your chosen profession, then you must get out there, have a go, make mistakes, learn from them, and keep refining your craft until you’re the best, or at least as good as the very best.

It can be done, and people do. You can too.

However, you must accept that you’ll make mistakes, and as long as you don’t make the same mistakes too often, you’ll be fine.

REMEMBER: There’s no such thing as failure, only outcomes you didn’t want and lessons to be learned. Learn the lessons, and you’ll be better prepared when you have another go.

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Filed Under: Wisdom Tagged With: Belief, Decision-making, Determination, Inspiration, Life, Meaning, money, Motivation, Philosophy, Sage Advice, Self-Belief, Success, Wisdom

This is the key to success in one lesson

05/13/2024 by Roy Sutton

Dear reader, would you like to know the key to success? It’s simple.

Success starts with making a decision. You decide what you want to achieve, and then you decide that you’re going to go out and get it.

Once your decision has been made, you pursue your objective with determination and tenacity, and you don’t allow anyone or anything to stop you.

In 1960, US President John Kennedy made a speech in which he said that by the end of that decade, the United States would put a man on the moon. And in 1969, the United States fulfilled the promise made by Kennedy.

Kennedy didn’t know how they would achieve the goal he articulated in 1960.

However, he believed in their ability to do it; he believed they could develop the technology to do it, and he made a decision that they would do it. However, ultimately, in making his promise, there was an element of risk.

Now there’s risk in everything we do, of course, and nothing exceptional will ever be achieved without some degree of risk along the way.

Lesser men and women may allow the fear of risk to stop them. However, men and women destined for great things will feel the fear, and they’ll do it anyway.

Greatness cannot be achieved without paying your dues along the way. That’s a fact.

Be fearless:

Anything worth having comes with a price tag, namely blood, sweat, and tears. So be bold, be strong, and pursue your dream with passion.

Yes, it will be challenging mentally and emotionally. And yes, plenty of people will tell you that it’s not possible or that you’re not quite good enough.

Well, don’t listen to the naysayers and negative Nellies. It matters not what they think, but only what you think. If you believe you can do it, then that’s all that matters.

If you want it, whatever it is, just keep pushing and never, ever give up until you get to where you want to be.

Greatness can be achieved by anyone with sufficient determination. People do succeed, and so can you.

So whatever it is you want to do, just go out there and do the damn thing. Do it now. Believe you can and you will.

If you’re still not convinced, then take a look at this video, which I think is a fantastic motivational speech.

Watch it now and I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. And the bottom line is that you’ve got to be fearless.

Key to Success – Video:

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What matters most in life? People or money?

02/18/2024 by Roy Sutton

What matters most in life? People or money? Think about that for a second or two.

Occasionally, I’m sure we all think to ourselves, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be rich and financially secure?“

It sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? Money, money, money!

You’d be able to do whatever you want, travel anywhere, and buy anything. Whether it’s a nice house, a fabulous car, the best clothes, the latest fashions, or the latest gadgets, you could have them all.

No more searching for cheap flights or even cheaper holidays.

And you wouldn’t have to worry about a job anymore, would you?

Wealth would mean the end to all your problems, surely?

Wealth is not a life without problems:

If only it were that easy, dear reader. Wealth, if you had it, might eliminate some of your problems, but it would also present you with lots of new ones.

Remember, riches may be chains of gold, but chains of gold are still chains.

Everyone has problems, regardless of any wealth and privileges they may enjoy. They’ll just have different problems.

Caretaker of your possessions:

If wealth is something you’ve yet to experience, then it may not be obvious to you, but once you’ve got plenty of money, you become the caretaker of your possessions.

You worry about losing your wealth. And you worry about the volatility of financial markets and how your wealth will be affected, both now and in the long term.

When you’ve got money, plenty of people will be hoping they can separate you from at least some of it. It seems like everyone is trying to sell you something and/or give you advice at a price.

Others will resent your wealth:

And don’t forget, many people will resent you for your wealth. Not everyone will be happy for you, that’s for sure.

Then you become a magnet for criminals, con artists, and even politicians who want a piece of your wealth.

You don’t know who you can trust anymore. Do people become your friends because they like you, or are they simply after your money? Once you’ve got wealth, it’s virtually impossible to know.

The impact of instant wealth:

However much you may dream of winning the lottery, for instance, it would have an impact on your life in ways you couldn’t begin to imagine. It wouldn’t solve all your problems; it would present you with many more.

If you’ve suddenly gained wealth and your friends haven’t, then your relationship with them is unlikely ever to be the same again. Even if you share some of your sudden wealth with them, it’s unlikely to help.

Whatever you share with people from your winnings, will just create tensions within your friendship group. Why did you give her X and I only got Y? That will be one accusation you’ll hear frequently, for instance.

What matters most in life?

If you are wealthy, dear reader, I’m pleased for you. Enjoy it all.

For those people working hard to become rich, good luck to you. I hope you achieve your goals and enjoy your wealth when you find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

However, whatever your financial circumstances, never forget this: only people matter.

You can have all the money in the world, but without your family and close friends, you would have absolutely nothing at all.

It’s the people in our lives that make life worth living.

They make us laugh, and they make us cry. They’re there for us when we need someone to listen; someone to put an arm around our shoulder and tell us that everything will be fine; and someone to give us a pat on the back when we’ve done well.

Money might make life comfortable, but does it make you rich? I don’t think it does.

If your life is blessed with good people who care about you, then that’s when you’re truly rich. If you also have a sense of purpose and a hobby, then you have all you need. Anything else is a bonus.

Money is nice to have, of course, and I wouldn’t discourage anyone from seeking to build wealth. Quite the contrary, you should always be trying to build your little nest egg for the future.

However, money alone will not make you happy. To be happy, your life needs people, purpose, and a pastime.

These are the things that matter.

Money is simply the icing on the cake. It is nice to have, but it is not essential to your happiness. Whereas having people in your life is essential to your happiness.

If you could only have either money or family and friends, which would you choose? I’d choose the people every time.

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Why you should make a difference in life

12/03/2023 by Roy Sutton

Where are you going? What is it you want to achieve in life? Would you like to make a difference while still on Planet Earth?

If you’re anything like me, dear reader, you’ll be asking yourself questions like these quite frequently.

However, any vision you have for your life should not just involve some notion of what you want to achieve, surely?

In looking to the future, your vision should also include something you would like to leave behind, don’t you think?

I’m talking about your legacy.

In other words, what will you leave behind for future generations?

Fundamental question:

If you’re to leave a lasting legacy, there’s a more fundamental question you should be asking yourself, and that is, “For what do I want to be remembered?“

Developing a clear idea of what you want your legacy to be will focus your attention on what you need to do to achieve it.

This will involve more than just establishing priorities. It requires you to consider what matters to you.

Once you know what truly matters to you, you’ll know where to focus all your energy.

If you can connect with your highest values, then this will have a profound effect on your behaviour.

That, in turn, should provide you with the motivation and drive to pursue your life’s purpose. Your raison d’etre.

A price must be paid:

However, you should recognise this fact too. If your life’s purpose is to be achieved, then there’s a price to be paid. There’s nothing for free in this life, that’s for sure. And that’s why you’ll need to be driven.

This leads us to the next question: How do you turn your vision into reality?

Like every journey, it starts with the first step.

You think about what needs to be done, but not for too long, and then you start doing it, and you keep going until you get to where you want to be.

The best time is now:

Like many people, you may be thinking that you have to have everything ‘just right’ before you can begin to achieve your aims. That’s not so, dear reader.

If you wait for everything to be perfect, then it’ll never happen. So the best time to start is right now. A year ago may have been better, of course, but failing that right now is best.

The danger with waiting for everything to be perfect is that you delay and delay and never get any traction on moving things closer to where you want to be.

Your life’s purpose will only become clearer as you experience life and gradually adjust your direction based on your experiences.

Every successful person goes through many experiences before they find the thing that will allow them to truly make a difference.

The importance of incremental change:

This is a process of incremental change that gradually takes you in the direction that is most appropriate for you. And if you’re heading in that direction, you’re almost certainly reinforcing what works for you.

If you just keep moving in the right direction, you will achieve your goals. It may take longer than you’d like, and it may not be as dramatic as you thought it would be, but you will get there.

The keyword is perseverance.

Keep going until you achieve what you want to achieve.

Achievement is a confidence-builder.

The more you achieve, the more you believe you can achieve. With confidence and self-belief, you can achieve anything you want to achieve.

You’ll find, dear reader, if you haven’t already, that achievement and success change your experience of being alive.

Not only does it make you feel good about yourself, but as a natural consequence, it also produces what will become your legacy, which will make your life worth living and a life well-lived.

So make a difference while you still have the energy and the desire.

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Your support is appreciated, dear reader. Thank you.

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Filed Under: Wisdom Tagged With: Belief, Decision-making, Determination, Inspiration, Life, Make A Difference, Meaning, money, Motivation, Philosophy, Sage Advice, Self-Belief, Success, Wisdom

The importance of making mistakes to achieving success