Make 1,000 Mistakes - Part 2

"I have not failed, I've just just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
- Thomas Edison, inventor of the electric light bulb and phonograph

In part 1 of this post, I suggested an alternative formula for success: If you want to achieve anything new and great, you must make 1,000 mistakes.

I say this based on my own experience, though I am certainly not the only one to observe this pattern. Thomas Edison believed it, as you can see from the quote above. And be glad he did, because everyone reading this post is probably sitting in a room illuminated by a light courtesy of his discovery.

I am also talking to myself as I write, but you are welcome to listen to the conversation.

If there is something you have never done before, or even better if no one has done it before, the process to achieve it is unknown. There will be discoveries you must make and skills you must learn along the way. Forces and events beyond control will play a role and, as a wise person once noted, time and chance happen to us all.

There is one thing we do know: Along the journey and especially before making discoveries and acquiring skills, we will make many mistakes. Maybe 10 or 100 or 1,000 or 10,000. This is just part of the process. Sometimes we can't know what to do until making the error and seeing the problem. Because real life is not as simple or deterministic as the magical success formulas imply.

This is why we must make 1,000 mistakes to achieve anything new or great. What matters is identifying mistakes, correcting them and moving on. The faster, the better. This is where a little humility and a lot of perseverance make all the difference.

They don't teach you this in school or in many business environments and social circles where mistakes are frowned upon. Consider the grade system. If you make zero or almost no mistakes, then you are wonderful and get an A. If you make just a few mistakes, you are pretty good and get a B. If you make several mistakes, you are so-so and get a C. If you make many mistakes, you are suspect and get a D. If you make too many mistakes, you fail and get an F. The focus is on minimizing mistakes. By this measure, Mr. Edison must have been a big failure!

But entrepreneurs, artists and visionaries know that mistakes are the pathway to learning and achievement!

So if you are trying to do something new and great - whether marketing a product or growing a business or building a life - and find yourself making many mistakes... Good for you! Smile and keep going and know you are in good company.

Make 1,000 Mistakes - Part 1

The front cover of the latest issue of Fortune Magazine states, "Retire Rich, 50 Great Stocks and Funds." On it is a picture of an older man with gray hair holding hands with a beautiful, young woman of about 30, standing on a sailboat in an exotic, warm location like the Caribbean.

The implied message is: Invest in these sure-fire stocks, and you too can have a 50-foot sailboat, a great tan, free time and a trophy wife half your age.

I don't know why, but the standard way to educate people or dispense advice now is by promising magical, guaranteed formulas for astronomical success. This Fortune cover is just one example. Walk down the business, self-help or magazine aisle at Barnes & Noble and you will see many more. Follow these 4 steps or buy these 50 stocks or do these 8 things and - like a genie popping out of a bottle - your wildest dreams will materialize. While there is insight and good advice in many of these materials, the packaging leads people to believe they are sure-fire, trouble-free programs, like a magical elixir or fountain of youth. They promise too much, on one hand, and oversimplify on the other.

So I would like to offer an alternative formula for success, whether in marketing, business or life: If you want to achieve anything new and great, you must make 1,000 mistakes. The faster you can make those 1,000 mistakes (and correct them), the faster and more likely your vision will materialize.

In part 2 of this post, I'll explain what I mean...

P.S. Tip of the hat to Brian Fretwell at Defining Victory for a conversation that inspired this post.