Illuminating the Path to Greatness - Why you should pay more attention to your mistakes.
Jul 10, 2025
It took me a while to believe, but mistakes are really the most valuable mentor a person can have. I'm sure we've all heard some variation of the quote by Thomas Edison about the light bulb where he says, "I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Billy Joel has often said, "You're not the only one who's made mistakes but they're the only thing you can truly call your own." So how do we average people make mistakes work for us? I find that there are two places where mistakes help me the most.
1. Mistakes Identify What to Work On Next
When it comes to learning new material (it doesn't have to be music), I find that many people think that doing the whole thing over and over again is the way to go. In fact, this is a really ineffective way to go about it and can be a huge time waster. For anything new that we are learning or developing, there will be parts that come very quickly and others that will need work. Mistakes tell us immediately which parts need work and if we focus our efforts there, we can elevate the quality of those parts to match the parts we do well. As people, we like focusing on the things we do well because it feels good. But repeating what we're already good at doesn't help us grow.
2. Mistakes Can Be Used As New Creative Choices
Obviously, when I'm practicing new things I make plenty of mistakes. Many times those mistakes sound horrible. But sometimes they sound really good... the "happy accidents." Those are the moments I really enjoy because they get me thinking about the music in a new way... a unique way that is exclusive to me. If I then take the time to cultivate that mistake, I have an original expression that hasn't been done by anyone else.
It's really easy to want to avoid making mistakes. Sometimes that avoidance turns into fear of taking any action at all. This can be especially true if you're afraid of making mistakes in public. Making mistakes is part of being human. We all know that but learning to use mistakes is sometimes a little harder. Just remember that mistakes illuminate the path to greatness.
