472 - What My Holiday Face Plant Can Teach You About Success

0:00Marie Forleo:You know, last year on vacation, something kind of scary and embarrassing happened to me. But as with most things that seem kind of negative, there was this hidden lesson inside. So Josh and I were on Selina, which is a beautiful little island off the coast of Sicily, where the best way to really get around is by scooter. Now, I hadn't ridden a scooter for at least 20 years, but I was super excited to get back on one. So it was this blazing hot day. It was in the summertime and I had shorts on and we walked from our hotel over to the rental place. Now, I don't speak much Italian and the women at the rental place didn't really speak much English.

0:41Marie Forleo:But after a few minutes with Google Translate, we were ready to just hop on our scooters and start exploring the island. So the folks at the rental place asked me if I was familiar with riding scooters and I said, no, not really. So they wanted to give me a little tutorial. Essentially, they said that you go like this to give it gas and that you squeeze the handles to break it. Now, I ride my bike quite a bit and it seemed really similar. And I said, OK, this sounds easy enough. And in Italian, that's that's facile. So I put on my helmet. I turned on the ignition and I got ready to ride off into paradise.

1:16Marie Forleo:Now, here's the thing. What I didn't quite realize was that the right lever was for the brake on the front of the bike and the left lever was for the brake on the back wheel. Now, I'm not so sure how I managed to do this, but basically I gassed it and I squeezed the brakes at the same freaking time. And within three seconds, I crashed it, I flipped it, and I landed on the asphalt with bare knees and a 250 pound scooter on top of me. Not one of my finer moments. Now, thank God there were no cars coming down the road. And thank God, Josh and the folks from the rental place immediately got the scooter off of me and they pulled me onto the side of the road.

2:00Marie Forleo:So miraculously, I did not break any bones and I couldn't even believe this, but I wasn't bleeding. I was just extremely shaken up and I was engulfed by this tidal wave of shame and embarrassment. I felt like such an idiot. Now the people from the rental place, they were so sweet and they wanted to take the scooter back. They said, you know what? You can just give this back to us. We're going to give Josh a bigger scooter so you could just relax and ride on the back of his. Now, in that moment, I had a choice. It was either A, I could play it safe and give the scooter back and then I would be a passenger rather than a driver.

2:38Marie Forleo:Or B, I could get my butt back up, get back on that scooter and learn how to ride it without killing myself or anybody else. Now, if you know anything about me, you probably know what I chose, which was B. And here's why I made that choice. I didn't want fear to take hold in my bones and start slowly turning me into a person who was scared and small and insecure. Just because I made a mistake and it was a pretty big one, I messed up, doesn't mean I was going to give up. So I got back on the scooter and yes, I was completely terrified, but I started nice and slow and in painstaking detail. I had everybody explain to me exactly what to do and what not to do.

3:25Marie Forleo:And very, very slowly, I got back on the scooter and I tried it again. First, I did a little test. I did little test runs up and down this one road until eventually I got comfortable enough to keep going. I told the people at the rental place, I got this. And by the end of the day, I got to be honest, I was 10 times more comfortable and confident than I ever thought I could be. And I was actually able to zip around the island without causing any damage to myself or objects or other people. And every single day after that, as I rode more and more, I got more confident. And as you can see from this little picture, eventually I got really into my little scooter.

4:03Marie Forleo:So you might be asking, how does this relate to you? Well, I think the biggest lesson that we can all remind ourselves of is this. When you get knocked down, it does not mean that you're weak or that you're stupid or that you're incapable. It just means that you're human and that you're really brave for even trying. But I think what's even more important, whether you wipe out physically like what I did or you wipe out in your business or your relationships or some creative project, which trust me, I faceplant in those many times myself. Let's be really clear. A fall isn't final unless you stay on the ground.

4:41Marie Forleo:So here is the bottom line. Do not give fear a chance to solidify and harden in your bones. You've got to get back up while the fear is fresh and new. And I promise then you will not be trapped by it. And here is the great thing. Once you get back up, you are no longer the person who fell. You're actually the person who's still riding. Can I be honest with you? You are too nice and it's costing you money because every time you say yes to someone's quick question or tiny favor, you're saying no to that one big project that'll get you the income you want. Watch this free 12 minute class and I'm going to show you how to double your productivity and escape the three toxic lies that keep most nice people stuck.

5:24Go to marieforleo.com slash free class or scan the QR code on screen right now.