Do you give yourself permission to make mistakes?

"Do you give yourself permission to make mistakes?”

A couple years ago, a friend of mine and I thought it’d be a great idea to start a business out of our college dorm room, providing LinkedIn editing services to fellow college students.

At the time, we thought it was easier to start a business than to find a job ??

I still remember the feeling of being energized and excited, as I was creating the promotional flyer that we would later distribute across the entire campus.

Thousands of copies were placed in mailboxes, stapled onto wooden posts, glued on to the entrances of Department buildings.

Then, nothing but silence followed as we sat in my room waiting for the phone to start ringing off the hook, a feeling I believe most entrepreneurs share even though the reality tells us otherwise ?? ?? ??

A few hours, we received an email.

Subject line, “RE: Your Flyer”

I couldn’t contain my excitement, so I started jumping up and down with so much force that at one point I thought I’d go straight through the floor if I didn’t stop.

That feeling of, “s____, it worked” was uncontrollable.

As we opened the email, we noticed that the individual was not reaching out to us regarding being a client, but rather to point out an error on our flyer.

Instead of spelling “professional,” we spelled “proffesional”.

Looking back, I find much humor in trying to provide a professional service, yet spelling the main word “professional” wrong, LOL.

Despite the burning desire of wanting to crawl under my blanket and never be seen by my fellow classmates again, I chose to laugh at our error and acknowledge the lessons learned.

Lesson #1: Proofread your work

Lesson #2: Find the courage to start whatever it is you’ve been wanting to do and make it happen

As I look back at that time, I’m grateful that I can still recall the experience.

I’m grateful that I wasn’t so harsh on myself for my mistake, rather I gave myself the absolute freedom to make a mistake and learn from it.

As you think about your own experience, “Do you give yourself permission to make mistakes?

Oleg Lougheed is the host of the Overcoming Odds Podcast, where you get a glimpse into the stories of individuals who have overcome adversity, suffering, and struggle in achieving their personal success.