Who can fight Sir Ken Robinson with that logic? It’s true, we learn from our mistakes. Every great champion in anything has said that and not by mere coincidence. From rock stars to nuclear physicists, on the pathways to greatness, many mistakes are made.
Who can fight Sir Ken Robinson with that logic? I pray that more parents today will inspire their children to be anything they want to be. I wish I had that when I was growing up but my parents were raised during the depression so they definitely taught us their limited beliefs. It took me until my mid adult life (yep, I’m a little older than most of you) to finally understand that what my parents taught me were their beliefs, not mine.
With the lower cost and diminishing barriers in today’s creative world, young people really do not have much in their way to express themselves and act. Those who wish to showcase their talents and learn how to market/manage them are free to do so! It will be up to their older friends and family to show them that they can! Giving them the opportunity to make those vital mistakes needed.
Bob Dylan famously said, “the times they are-a-changing” and that quote couldn’t be truer today. With the economic situation, democratic revolutions, and natural disasters, no one blinks in fear of missing out. With its crippling high costs, higher education continues to grow elusive for many. Add that to the plummeting test scores and many begin to wonder, what’s going to give?
As we give birth to a new generation, we want to give them the best tools to succeed in the new environment. Many, unhappy with their college results, are starting to encourage other creative forms of education for the youth. The Europeans have the “Gap Year” where students take a year off in between high school and university to travel or work. Their American counterparts are beginning to scratch their heads and ask why their society isn’t as welcoming to such propositions. Isn’t adolescence all about making mistakes anyway?
So here’s my pitch.
Why not give your child the gift of entrepreneurism?
As Sir Robinson says, “if kids don’t know, they’ll still have a go at it.” Many young adults have ideas and dreams; often however, they don’t have the means or resources to make something out of them. Now I am not suggesting you invest $20,000 in your child’s homemade comic books, I am simply saying invest in their passions. To some extent we do it already. A few years of ballet or karate do ad up and though they are respectable and valuable in their own right, they are rarely driven by their end user; your child. Imagine that same lump of money being channeled towards your child’s passion. Do they want to write comedic video skits? Print cool T-shirts? How about record a few mix taps?For the youth, with little/no expendable income or resources, getting a hold of a simple video camera, cheap microphone, or a couple dozen blank t-shirts can seem impossible. With that small initial parent investment, you could give your child the tools they need to explore their passions. I know many parents already do but what if we were to take it further?
What if we were to encourage our kids to start their own businesses? Regardless of their success or failure rate, learning through experience is the best teacher. Not only are they exploring what they love, they are driven to learn everything needed to continue their passion. After a while, that T-shirt business will need a Facebook page, a brand name, creative design, a little networking, and possibly the need to purchase a domain name. Why wait till the classroom to teach them valuable lessons? If guided correctly, material covered in standard business 101, intro to marketing, and communications classes could be taught without them even knowing it! Letting them run with their passion could help guild them better in life. Instead of them “thinking” they want to major in marketing, give them the chance to actually do it and find out. Who knows they could actually make a little money and build that personal brand!
Overall, your youth is a time to experiment and make mistakes. With a few guidelines and challenges, why not give your child the opportunity to make the best mistakes he/she can and face more interesting problems? Get them over the initial hurdle by investing in them and watch them grow. Who knows, they could surprise you.
Definitely think that ideas and creativity are scared out of us by the fear of being wrong, as was pointed out in this article. The fear of being wrong stagnates creativity, individual thinking and condices a society that wants to play it safe. That is why less than 10% of the population prefers to get paid on the potential of producing results (entrepreneurship). Rather, they prefer to play it safe and get paid for their time (job) regardless of how productive they are. Time is safe, you really can’t go wrong with it. All you have to do is give it up!
Though many can understand why one would prefer to play it safe in the “real world” I have to ask, why do we demand the same during our youth? If we have already developed a safety net for these young adults, how come they are not taking full advantage of it? It’s not their fault however, it is society that forces them to fear failure and mistakes, to avoid it at all costs. Our “little” mistakes teach us how to avoid “better” mistakes, when these “better” mistakes are what really teaches us.
How can we make sure the youth has the opportunity to make those “better” mistakes? Solve that and I think our American culture will fundamentally change and “winning the future” will come naturally.
My parents have always supported my siblings’ and my passions and talents and even went a step further to support me having my art exhibitions in public places. They always encouraged me to take the next step, but I had to do it myself. I hope more parents take your advice!
What a great story! Not only did you have the opportunity to do your art but you were forced to learn something about organizing events (your art exhibitions). The lessons taught span from managerial, accounting, and marketing! Pretty cool huh?
Entrepreneurism teaches you so many lesson, not only in business but in life too. To be an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to make mistakes, pick yourself and continue to forge forward.
You have to continue to see everything as a new possibility and to be able to constantly tap into your creativity to generate ideas. Read also: Tips For A Strong Start - How To Become A Successful Entrepreneur
We all know that a parent’s job is probably the MOST important one out there, there is not much denying that. I remember seeing an IBM poster that read “we are looking to solve more interesting problems” and I thought, wouldn’t it be great if society gave us the freedom of mistakes? Hoping that down the line, we would be making more interesting and important mistakes than lesser ones?
Usually, by the time we have that opportunity, the stakes are too high and our risk opposed mind set will avoid that opportunity entirely.
At the end of it all, we are all simply trying to do our best as parents. Giving your child the opportunity to make those “better” mistakes will be a great gift to give.