Chapter Twelve. Beautiful Mistakes
It was a frigid winter night when Yo-Yo Ma almost dropped his 2.5-million-dollar instrument on the floor.
The sold-out theater was buzzing with excitement. A single wooden chair sat in the center of the stage. The audience hushed and then broke into applause as Yo-Yo Ma appeared. The concert began, and in the middle of a difficult song, Ma’s cello suddenly slipped, and then again. On the third slip, it really started to fall. Abruptly, Ma stopped and reached out to catch his 1773 Stradivarius before it hit the floor. The audience gasped. Everyone held their breath. Ma gave a sigh of relief and gracefully pulled the cello back into position. Then he pointed at the cello and wagged his finger as if to scold her mischievous act. The audience erupted into laughter. Ma smiled, straightened himself out, and continued to play.
The Pitfalls of Perfectionism
The way Yo-Yo Ma handled himself made that blunder become beautiful. He transformed an error into an act of grace. It changed the concert into a community event. After the recovery from the mistake, everyone in the audience was on his side. Yo-Yo Ma was no longer one of the world’s top performers, he was a friend. The way he handled his error made us feel safe. To this day, that was one of most powerful and creative musical moments I’ve experienced in my life.
It was a simple act, embracing the mistake, but it was profound. Who does that? When I make a mistake in front of others, my face becomes flush and I get stressed. Yo-Yo Ma was the epitome of calm. Yet he wasn’t just a Zen master who fluidly handled a problem; he was a creative genius who brought out harmony from discord. To do such a thing, it helps to have a deep sense of identity and a vision for a higher goal. Yo-Yo Ma had both. In one interview he said, “You don’t play music for perfection. The point of music is to make someone feel.” His performance did just that. Embracing that blunder, rather than trying to cover it up, brought warmth into that chilly room.
Perfectionism is made up of two parts: a drive for greatness, and fear. It’s the fear and the shame, blame, and judgment that overwhelm. Mix those ingredients together and they become a bitter drink. Perfectionism poisons creativity. Some perfectionists never try to create because they are afraid of being wrong. But being creative requires that we let go of fear, get out of our comfort zone, and make mistakes. As the cliché goes, “Mistakes are proof that you are trying.” Yet mistakes can also be proof that you haven’t practiced very hard. Making mistakes is never enough.
I walked into one of my client’s offices and saw a huge poster that said “Make Mistakes. Make Mistakes. Make Mistakes.” At first glance I thought, “that’s great.” Then I stopped and thought some more. As I stood there I noticed that the poster was hanging in the finance department above the cubicle that belonged to the head of payroll. Instantly, I remembered that a number of my paychecks from this company had been wrong. Suddenly, the message on that poster didn’t seem like such a good idea. Making financial mistakes isn’t where creative genius is born.
Creative Growth
Although making mistakes is part of the creative process, it is never the goal. When Edison set out to invent the lightbulb, he desperately wanted to create one that worked. His team made countless mistakes and tested over 6000 types of filaments in trying to find something that would burn bright without going out. In our own drive to succeed, mistakes are inevitable. Yet fewer mistakes are better than more.
If the end game is creative growth, one of the quickest ways to get through mistakes is to have a higher goal. Sustained light is what drove Edison and his team to try so many different types of filament substances—everything from wood shavings to a hair from his employee’s beard! It wasn’t until after a year of mistakes that carbonized bamboo emerged as the best source.
And Yo-Yo Ma was driven not just to hit the perfect note, but to make people feel. As a result, he was driven to perfection and practiced harder than anyone else. His goal of creating music that resonated in a deep and emotional way gave him drive. When onstage, Yo-Yo Ma considers himself this way: “I’m the host of a wonderful party. You’re all my guests.” His higher goal changed the whole scene.
So how does this relate to you and me? First, if you have a poster hanging up in your room that says “Make Mistakes. Make Mistakes. Make Mistakes,” go ahead and tear it down. Or better yet, just cross out the word Make three times. Then replace those crossed-out words with “Accept, Embrace, Transform.” When we do that, it opens up the opportunity to learn, to connect with others, and to move ahead. Finally, follow master photographer Ansel Adams’s advice: “Strive for perfection. Settle for excellence.”
A LIFE SPENT MAKING MISTAKES IS NOT ONLY MORE HONORABLE, BUT MORE USEFUL THAN A LIFE SPENT DOING NOTHING.
— GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
STEP 1
“Mistakes aren’t the problem, it’s what we do with them that counts,” as Evan Chong once said. In an effort to handle mistakes with more ease, let’s follow Yo-Yo Ma’s lead. When Ma plays a concert, he has a vision for a higher goal. His goal is to connect and to make people feel.
In your own life, think about one area of your personal or professional life that can be compared to a stage. Think of something that you do when you have to deliver and you have to perform. Next, write down the task and then try to think up a higher goal. Come up with a few goals and select the one that fits. In moments of emergency (that is, when you make a mistake), think back to this goal so that you can handle that mistake with more grace and ease.
STEP 2
Come up with three people you respect who handle mistakes with exemplary ease. Write down their names followed by a few words that reveal what they do well. Use these ideas as inspiration for your own growth.
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