A couple of hours before I was slated to speak at Motion in Santa Fe last month, my son fell on the playground. Not far. But HARD. Ambulance, ER, dentist visit, Cornell checkup. And countless encouragement about how scars are COOL. Not just cool, but some are sexy as hell!
The same goes for work scars. Well, maybe not the sexy part. And maybe they aren’t always cool. But they sure as hell make you stronger! And figure out who you are. Yes, they are still painful at first, but with time and enough encouragement, they tend to turn into the thick skin you’ve always wanted!
Sometimes, you listen to the wrong people. Sometimes, you hire the wrong people. Sometimes, you turn wishful thinking into assumptions — and those can sometimes turn into the reality in your head. And when that construct crumbles, it can be very painful. And take a while to recover from.
But when the wounds start healing and the skin starts growing back nice and thick it gets you closer to who you are and, more importantly, who you are not!
Nobody has YOUR scars. OWN them.