We all go through life gaining knowledge from the people that surround us. The things that we remember the most are the little sayings that people say. Usually these sayings are delivered when we’re in a time of crisis. This is probably why we have a tendency to remember them. I don’t ever recall my dad saying, “We’re up the creek without a paddle,” while sitting on the couch watching TV. No, it was usually said when we were in a bad situation like having a flat tire and pulling out the spare only to find that it has no air in it.

My favorite saying was given to me by my Chief in the Navy. “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” The first time I heard this was when I was “fixing” my weapons radar system and took it down for an hour during a tracking exercise. I quickly learned what I did wrong and how not to do it again. I also learned from that saying my chief imparted upon me. It wasn’t actually broke until I started to mess with it.

It’s OK to make mistakes — just make sure you learn something from them.

By: Brian Schrand