“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.” –Coach John Wooden

These two sentences become a mantra that sometimes pushes people beyond their fear.

In the book How to Be Like Coach Wooden by Pat Williams, Coach Wooden described why he was occasionally bothered if his players didn’t make enough mistakes in practice:

“I wanted my players to be active, I wanted them doing things and initiating. I didn’t want them worrying about mistakes. Mistakes made while expanding boundaries are what I wanted. If we weren’t making mistakes, we weren’t far enough out on the edge. If we weren’t pushing against the walls of our capabilities, we weren’t practicing properly. The time to cut down on turnovers is during games, not during practice.”

In his book Wooden on Leadership with Steve Jamison, Coach described how this attitude applies to leadership and business:

“A basketball team that won’t risk mistakes will not outscore opponents. The same is true for any organization. Fouls, errors and mistakes are part of the competitive process in sports, business and elsewhere. Don’t live in fear of making a mistake.

“In sports, action often must be taken instantaneously to capitalize on an opportunity. In every organization, time is of the essence when opportunity knocks.

“Hesitancy, indecisiveness, vacillation and fear of failure are not characteristics I associate with good leadership.

“A leader must have Initiative—the courage to make decisions, to act, and the willingness and strength to risk failure and take a stand even when it goes against the opinion of others.”

Credit: success.