"Wisdom comes from experience..."

The British author Terry Pratchett, who is perhaps best known for writing 41 comic fantasy novels all set in the fictional land of Discworld (which apparently consists of a large disc, hence the name, resting on the backs of four huge elephants which in turn are standing on the back of an enormous turtle who slowly swims through space) once wrote, "Wisdom comes from experience.  Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom."  It's a circular quote, which completely makes sense coming from a writer who created a fantasy world that exists on a flat disk held up by elephants standing on top of a cosmic turtle!  

As I think about Pratchett's statement a little more, though, it actually makes perfect sense.  Picture in your mind someone who is wise, and I would be willing to bet that you are thinking of someone with gray or even white hair (see my post "Gray-haired wisdom")!  Regardless of industry, individuals who have done a lot and seen a lot are the same individuals that others go to for help.  We learn through our experiences.  I've posted in the past about the importance of learning from our failures, as well as our successes (see, for example, "Failure", "I wish you bad luck", "Failing Forward", and "The greatest teacher, failure is").  The experience that we gain through our failures helps us to learn, grow, and develop.  in other words, "Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom!" 

I want to end with one additional quote - this one from Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company.  Ford said, "Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this.  For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward."  Fail.  Learn.  Repeat.