Truth Picks

What's a Truth Pick you ask?

A Truth Pick is a short, sharp commentary designed to extract 'Truth' from a Quote, pithy saying, epigram or graffiti. I send these out whenever the muse strikes. My goal is to continue generating them as long as people keep reading them. 

Truth Pick #182  

Reward excellent failures,
Punish mediocre successes.
Phil Daniels


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 Somewhere between the school yard and the safety of the corporate chair we lose the bright courage of childhood. There was once a time - when falling off the bike was recognized as the only way to learn to ride. Today? We shy away from anything that poses risk and in doing so bypass the only path to growth.

We've tarred and feathered failure to the point where it's unwelcome in polite company. We've lost sight of the fact that to learn how to swim requires we get water up our nose. We've forgotten failure is the only way to foster feats of glory.

Small successes are safe and simple. Show up on time. Do what worked. Do it faster. Do it cheaper. Turn the wide promise of our tomorrows into a series of sequels. 

There's another path around our practiced patterns -- it's called the razor's edge. Each step requires careful thought with cuts and scrapes abounding. It leads us forward to where the air is rare and competition absent.

Failure is the only ladder tall enough to reach the next plateau.

(c) 2002 Peter de Jager - Pdejager@truthpicks.com

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