Get Off The Floor!
There once was a little boy whose father was helping him teach how to ride a bike. With out training wheels! How scary for this child but adventurous. Since he had bravery and courage he decided to try. His first few times, he was able to to keep himself up with his legs in case he became unbalanced.
Unfortunately, as usually happens when trying to learn to ride a bike, he fell. He laid on the floor, with tears coming to his eyes although overall he wasn’t hurt physically. His fear though kept him pinned to the ground, arms crossed, and mouth set firm.
We will get back to him in a minute.
Ever been in that situation? You try something new that you may have some experience with (or none!) and you fail. You fall. You stumble. And you trip. Sometimes the fall is graceful. Many times, the fall is not and it hurts. You feel your pride stung and you wonder if it is even worth it.
Let me tell you this. You cannot succeed unless you fall. You cannot. Do you know why? Because you can’t develop the perseverance you need in order to BE successful. No business, even those who are millionaires, have gotten there without hard knocks.
No business, even those who are millionaires, have gotten there without hard knocks.
Back to the story…
The father ran to his son, concerned as he saw him lay on the floor.
“Son, are you okay?” he quickly checked him for bruises but didn’t see any blood or major injury.
“No.”
“What is it?”
“I fell. I didn’t stay on the bike and it really scared me”, at this point the boys eyes started to fill with tears and he began to cry.
His father comforted and hugged him. “Son, sometimes you are going to fall. A lot of times. But the first thing you have to do before you try again is get off the floor. I promise that even if you don’t learn to ride your bike, life is still amazing and you will find something else you love. But first, let’s try again okay?”
The son nodded and on wobbly pedals, tried again. He fell. But this time, he got determined and angry. After three more falls, he was a success! He rode his bike.
Moral of the story?
