*formerly posted on the BGSU MBA blog in 2009
A couple months ago, I was eating out at a Chinese buffet with a handful of classmates. A few of us were joking around that we would take the fortunes from our fortune cookies and make them our statuses on Facebook. Anyhow, I opened up my cookie and received an intriguing fortune: "Failure is opportunity in disguise". This seemed to contradict some of the 'wisdom' that is force-fed to us through tradition, culture, and society.
A few years ago, I read a book by Vince Lombardi, Jr., taking quotes from his father, legendary National Football League coach Vince Lombardi, Sr. One of the coach's famous lines was: "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." While this is a highly motivational quote, I have to disagree with the quote in the context of this blog post. Lombardi's quote suggests that losing is not an option and making mistakes is only detrimental to one's goals.
Meanwhile, a few years ago, Converse ran an advertisement with National Basketball Association player Dwyane Wade, who is a star with the Miami Heat. In the commercial, Wade falls down and gets knocked down in various situations. Yet, everytime, he gets back up. The saying with the commercial was: "Fall down seven times. Stand up eight." In this sense, Wade did not let pain or overpowering stop him from playing basketball aggressively and passionately. Perhaps Wade relates to this quote off the court as well, as the message certainly applies.
Further back, the decent but poor fit in the Rocky saga "Rocky V" had a video montage of the five movies with music in the background. The song playing was performed by Elton John, entitled "The Measure of a Man". The lyrics of the song include the following words: "You had to lose so you could win. / And rise above your troubles while you can. / Now you can love, now you can lose, / Now you can choose, / That's the measure of a man." Definitely, the lyrics can apply to women as well as outside the boxing realm. Sometimes, we have to mess up and make mistakes before we learn to do things the right way. Yet, the losing enables us to eventually succeed at what we are working towards.
In the MBA program, there may be times inside or outside the classroom where we fail. We may be humbled by others or disappointed in ourselves. Instead of sulking in shame and low morale, we should keep moving forward. As a classmate told me one time, "Do not let your 'chair' weigh you down." That is, as we learn from mistakes, we need to let go of them. We cannot let past mistakes hang around in the present. From an accounting perspective, they are 'sunk costs'. Let it go. Or, as Paul McCartney said, "Let it be." And, as the cookie said, "Failure is opportunity in disguise."
Links:
• The Lombardi Rules
• Dwyane Wade Converse commercial
• The Measure of a Man song lyrics
• Let It Be song lyrics
A couple months ago, I was eating out at a Chinese buffet with a handful of classmates. A few of us were joking around that we would take the fortunes from our fortune cookies and make them our statuses on Facebook. Anyhow, I opened up my cookie and received an intriguing fortune: "Failure is opportunity in disguise". This seemed to contradict some of the 'wisdom' that is force-fed to us through tradition, culture, and society.
A few years ago, I read a book by Vince Lombardi, Jr., taking quotes from his father, legendary National Football League coach Vince Lombardi, Sr. One of the coach's famous lines was: "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." While this is a highly motivational quote, I have to disagree with the quote in the context of this blog post. Lombardi's quote suggests that losing is not an option and making mistakes is only detrimental to one's goals.
Meanwhile, a few years ago, Converse ran an advertisement with National Basketball Association player Dwyane Wade, who is a star with the Miami Heat. In the commercial, Wade falls down and gets knocked down in various situations. Yet, everytime, he gets back up. The saying with the commercial was: "Fall down seven times. Stand up eight." In this sense, Wade did not let pain or overpowering stop him from playing basketball aggressively and passionately. Perhaps Wade relates to this quote off the court as well, as the message certainly applies.
Further back, the decent but poor fit in the Rocky saga "Rocky V" had a video montage of the five movies with music in the background. The song playing was performed by Elton John, entitled "The Measure of a Man". The lyrics of the song include the following words: "You had to lose so you could win. / And rise above your troubles while you can. / Now you can love, now you can lose, / Now you can choose, / That's the measure of a man." Definitely, the lyrics can apply to women as well as outside the boxing realm. Sometimes, we have to mess up and make mistakes before we learn to do things the right way. Yet, the losing enables us to eventually succeed at what we are working towards.
In the MBA program, there may be times inside or outside the classroom where we fail. We may be humbled by others or disappointed in ourselves. Instead of sulking in shame and low morale, we should keep moving forward. As a classmate told me one time, "Do not let your 'chair' weigh you down." That is, as we learn from mistakes, we need to let go of them. We cannot let past mistakes hang around in the present. From an accounting perspective, they are 'sunk costs'. Let it go. Or, as Paul McCartney said, "Let it be." And, as the cookie said, "Failure is opportunity in disguise."
Links:
• The Lombardi Rules
• Dwyane Wade Converse commercial
• The Measure of a Man song lyrics
• Let It Be song lyrics