Eric was busy building his career – and it was going well. Even though things were going well, he was always glad to talk to his long-time mentor, Jan.
Jan had been one of Eric’s college instructors, and they had remained in touch throughout his career. Jan was going to be in Eric’s town on business and they were going to meet for dinner. He had been looking forward to her business trip, and over dinner he shared some of his work challenges as a part of their visit.
A few days later, he received an envelope in the mail with a brand new Dixon yellow #2 pencil and a letter.
Here is what the letter said. . .
Dear Eric,
It was great to see you the other day. After our visit and thinking about what you shared with me, I wanted to send you something.
By now you know it is a pencil. What you don’t know yet, is why I’m sending you a pencil, so I’ll explain.
A long time ago one of my mentors gave me a pencil with an eraser to remind me of five important lessons an eraser can teach us.
She gave it to me because she said I was treating all of my life – at work and at home – like I was taking the biggest test of my life with an ink pen, rather than a #2 pencil. She then explained the five lessons.
Lesson #1 – Erasers allow us to correct mistakes, and mistakes are correctable. Everyone makes mistakes. You have to erase them, and let go of the mistake.
Lesson #2 – Erasers give us the power to adjust, and our best work requires adjustments and updates. Your plans absolutely must be written down, and they need to be written in pencil. The world and your situations will change. The eraser will help you be more flexible and adaptable.
Lesson #3 – Erasers give us a safety net, and remind us that the pressure isn’t as great as we might think. Think about it, if you do a math assignment in pen, the pressure is on to get the answers right the first time. This is not an excuse for doing poor work, but having an eraser does take off some of the pressure.
Lesson #4 – Erasers invite us to edit, and results of a second (or third) draft are almost always better. If you don’t succeed (or succeed as completely as you hoped), the eraser lets you make edits and try again.
Lesson #5 – Erasers erase the past, and help us focus on what’s next. Yes, you must learn from the past, but you must be forward focused. The beauty of a great eraser, like the one on the pencil I’ve given you, is that it erases well enough that you CAN focus on what’s next.
Eric, obviously I could write much more about each of these points, but in some way, that would defeat the purpose.
I’ve shared these just the way they were shared with me. I’ve created my own meaning, and deepened the lessons as I’ve made them my own. I encourage you to do the same.
You probably never noticed that special pencil on my desk; I know it kind of blends in with the rest of everything else. But I know it’s there, and every time I look at it I am reminded of the five lessons.
My hope is that you do the same; that the pencil becomes your reminder, a reminder of how successful you can become as long as you have an eraser.
Hopefully someday as a leader or a coach you will meet someone you know will benefit from these lessons and you will give them a pencil with an eraser too.
You are Remarkable!
Jan
Potential Pointer: The next time you look at a pencil, remember the lessons of the eraser. The eraser is a powerful reminder that mistakes are OK. They can be overcome and, that in fact, you can’t do your best work if aren’t able to try and fail.
Jan had been one of Eric’s college instructors, and they had remained in touch throughout his career. Jan was going to be in Eric’s town on business and they were going to meet for dinner. He had been looking forward to her business trip, and over dinner he shared some of his work challenges as a part of their visit.
A few days later, he received an envelope in the mail with a brand new Dixon yellow #2 pencil and a letter.
Here is what the letter said. . .
Dear Eric,
It was great to see you the other day. After our visit and thinking about what you shared with me, I wanted to send you something.
By now you know it is a pencil. What you don’t know yet, is why I’m sending you a pencil, so I’ll explain.
A long time ago one of my mentors gave me a pencil with an eraser to remind me of five important lessons an eraser can teach us.
She gave it to me because she said I was treating all of my life – at work and at home – like I was taking the biggest test of my life with an ink pen, rather than a #2 pencil. She then explained the five lessons.
Lesson #1 – Erasers allow us to correct mistakes, and mistakes are correctable. Everyone makes mistakes. You have to erase them, and let go of the mistake.
Lesson #2 – Erasers give us the power to adjust, and our best work requires adjustments and updates. Your plans absolutely must be written down, and they need to be written in pencil. The world and your situations will change. The eraser will help you be more flexible and adaptable.
Lesson #3 – Erasers give us a safety net, and remind us that the pressure isn’t as great as we might think. Think about it, if you do a math assignment in pen, the pressure is on to get the answers right the first time. This is not an excuse for doing poor work, but having an eraser does take off some of the pressure.
Lesson #4 – Erasers invite us to edit, and results of a second (or third) draft are almost always better. If you don’t succeed (or succeed as completely as you hoped), the eraser lets you make edits and try again.
Lesson #5 – Erasers erase the past, and help us focus on what’s next. Yes, you must learn from the past, but you must be forward focused. The beauty of a great eraser, like the one on the pencil I’ve given you, is that it erases well enough that you CAN focus on what’s next.
Eric, obviously I could write much more about each of these points, but in some way, that would defeat the purpose.
I’ve shared these just the way they were shared with me. I’ve created my own meaning, and deepened the lessons as I’ve made them my own. I encourage you to do the same.
You probably never noticed that special pencil on my desk; I know it kind of blends in with the rest of everything else. But I know it’s there, and every time I look at it I am reminded of the five lessons.
My hope is that you do the same; that the pencil becomes your reminder, a reminder of how successful you can become as long as you have an eraser.
Hopefully someday as a leader or a coach you will meet someone you know will benefit from these lessons and you will give them a pencil with an eraser too.
You are Remarkable!
Jan
Potential Pointer: The next time you look at a pencil, remember the lessons of the eraser. The eraser is a powerful reminder that mistakes are OK. They can be overcome and, that in fact, you can’t do your best work if aren’t able to try and fail.
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