Sixteen Wishes: #6 of 16
"Earn high marks in failure."
On her 16th birthday (December 20th, 2016), I gave my daughter Libby a collection of sixteen custom-printed cards instead of a conventional, store-bought card. Each one detailing a hard-earned conviction I’d hoped to pass on to her—convictions passed on to me by some amazing role models I’d met during the first 60 years of my life. I know. This is SUCH a dad thing to do! But my motivation was simple, driven by an ever-present thought: “If I died tomorrow, what would I leave behind for Libby that might help her live the best life possible?” The motivation in passing them on to you is to start a conversation. What are your convictions, beliefs, values? What strongly held ideas do you fall back on to live your best life possible? Let me know! Just click on the leave-a-comment box at the end of this post…
I’m sure this one went over like a lead balloon.
“Failure? Are you kidding me, dad?” 🙄
Libby, as a Grade-A, textbook perfectionist, rarely brought home a bad grade or had to be reminded to run faster or play harder during a soccer game.
Quite frankly, it took me a long time myself to be okay with “constructive” failure. But it wasn’t until I experienced and benefited from the silver lining of learning I mentioned on the card.
Can you identify?
Next time, #7: “Where to look for happiness.”
As always, your readership, support and engagement is solid gold. 🙏
Peace & Love,
Mark
P.S. A big shout-out to my good buddy Martin Corbin, the very talented graphic designer who helped me create Libby’s cards and the lovely keepsake package to house them (complete with fancy wax seal).