Driving Lessons

by Wendy Perrotti

I was the kid who never got anything right.

I knocked stuff over everywhere I went. I lost things. I had great big ideas that never turned out anything like I imagined.

You know the kid whose bumper car was stuck doing private little loops in the corner, never bumping anything but the wall?

That was me.

When my father (truly THE most loving and patient man on the planet) was teaching me to drive, he slammed both fists on the dashboard and screamed, "WENDY, you are going to have to try very, VERY HARD in life because nothing, I mean NOTHING, comes naturally to you!!!"

And so it goes.

I'm still that same kid.

Most of my big ideas fail outright on execution, I've never once gotten a bumper car to work, and my knees are permanently scarred by how many times I've tripped over my own two feet.

The difference?

I no longer feel like that awkward kid.

In fact, I feel grateful. Being that kid for fifty-five years has taught me that three left turns do make a right. I’ve built successful businesses, have family and friends I adore, and get to do the work I love.

In the long run, those bumps and bruises offered some of the greatest lessons of my life.

As long as I kept going, I was never lost.

As long as I kept trying, I never failed.

Sure, my ideas fail, my plans fail, stuff I try fails all the time – but I never do.

I am always on my way forward.

Many of the most incredible things I’ve seen, done, and gotten were not on my original path.

I never would have even noticed them if I had been busy thinking about the past (and what had gone wrong with my big failed idea) or worrying about the future (and how I was going to force my original plan to work).

Every amazing opportunity - in fact, everything that's real - exists only in the present moment.

So, go ahead and make your plans this week, they’re going to lead you somewhere. Try and fail. Try and succeed. Try new things and tweak old things to try them again.

And all along your way, keep your eyes wide open. You'll be amazed at what’s right in front of you.