Be The First Penguin

In the book The Last Lecture Randy Pausch said, "“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”

I read that and it stuck with me. I’ve ended up repeating it over and over again. It’s a phrase worth considering at every brick wall we encounter, with every disappointment and at every road block. It’s also a reminder that failure is not just acceptable, it’s often quite essential!

In the book a professor talked about how he gave his students a “First Penguin Award” and that award went to the student or team that took the biggest gamble in trying new ideas or new technology, while failing to achieve their stated goals. It enabled them to celebrate out-of-the-box thinking and using imagination in a daring way.

Here’s why he started the award: when penguins are about to jump into the water that might contain predators, well, somebody’s got to be the first penguin in.

The person who failed often knows how to avoid future failures. The person who knows only success can be more oblivious to all the pitfalls.

I can attest to this personally. After being in the real estate for 20 years, I made at least 15 large mistakes throughout 2005 and 2006 that made my 2007 & 2008 quite miserable.

I then spent 3 ½ years really building and working hard to amass an organization of over 25,000 people only to be totally misled and disappointed by the company I was affiliated with.

As a result, however, my wife and I are in a position in 2012 and beyond to not just experience our best year ever but to also have the best experiences as we are amazed at the healthy, productive, profitable and fun culture that we’re currently aligned with.

I’m not bummed about the real estate market and the lessons we learned or the experience and subsequent lessons in the network marketing profession; rather, I’m ecstatic beyond belief.

Some of my partners and investors who recognize this and stuck with us will also reap enormous benefits in the years to come in our new venture in Network Marketing. For the ones who don’t recognize the Penguin in the situation, well – you’ll have to watch from the sidelines.

Go be a Penguin.