Here I go again, going “old school,” referencing another Motown mega-hit. This time it is “Everybody Plays the Fool” by Aaron Neville:
Everybody plays the fool sometime;
There’s no exception to the rule. Listen baby,
It may be factual, it may be cruel, but I ain’t lying:
Everybody plays the fool.
I’ve found the message of this song to be very true in life. Everyone does play the fool sometimes, even in a city as filled with “the best and the brightest” as Washington, D.C.
No matter what our status or position in life, we all have sung this tune at some point. Maybe your girlfriend left you or a client shopped your bid and went with a rival firm instead. Maybe your parents let you down or your business partner embezzled funds. Personal or professional, it doesn’t matter; the pain is the same.
The problem today is most people are so afraid of being put into one of these painful situations that they refuse to take risks or put themselves out there in any way. This approach rarely results in success. People who can’t take risks don’t tend to last too long in the business world, since nearly everything in business involves some degree of risk. Want to introduce a new product or service, hire a new staff member or launch a new ad campaign? All those things are full of risk.
This strategy doesn’t work very well in personal relationships, either. Some people are perfectly happy by themselves, but most of us need relationships with other people to be happy. Close relationships, whether familial, romantic or friendly, are built on sharing parts of yourself and your life with other people. If you refuse to put yourself out there in any way, how can anyone get to know you?
I say life is too short for this approach. Take the risks and don’t worry about the possibility that you will be disappointed. Stuff happens. Expect the best of people and roll the dice. If they let you down then hey, at least you took a shot.
I’ve found in business that if you get let down and handle it with class, it earns you respect. Even the clients who let you down will respect you if you handle yourself well. They might even opt to hire you in the future on the basis of your reaction today. On the personal side, it’s as they say: “It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
Have a great weekend,
Ro