I don’t know how many times it takes a baby before they learn to walk but suffice to say, it is a lot. In the first few months babies want to straighten their legs, then there is the whole crawling experience, followed by teetering, and finally there is walking. Going from 0 to 100 takes place in roughly a year give or take a few months on either side. When babies are not being successful in their walking efforts they certainly don’t second guess themselves, mentally replay their mistakes, think God has it in for them, blame the sofa, or do a myriad of other things that we adults do. Instead they take a nap and try again.

Success is a journey in which you spend a lot of time on your butt because you took a wrong step. What makes babies successful is that they don’t really care about the butt time or wallow in their mistakes. They certainly don’t label a fall as ‘failure’ although they might get frustrated and cry. They stay focused on their goal and try to reach it many times per day. For them, walking is going to happen and it is just a matter of when.

Accomplishing personal and professional success is no different no matter what business or motivational expert you read. In the end, all the experts are trying to do is get you out in the fray so you will keep trying. It is simple math really. Every successful person has miles worth of unsuccessful attempts behind them. (Notice I’m not calling these failures because there not.) Brad Pitt dressed up in a chicken costume for Heaven’s sake. He wanted to be an actor that bad. Our own egos are our biggest enemies. They cause us to feel shame and be embarrassed by our performance. Babies are egoless – they don’t care.

If you want to be successful at something put your ego in a box, leave it at the door, and keep trying because the truth is nothing is really a failure except quitting.
Kristin Hiemstra and Founder and President of the Art of Potential. Check out Kristin Hiemstra’s Hired in 30. Follow her on Twitter @callingkristin. Check out her website: http://www.artofpotential.com.

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