Yesterday afternoon, as I was out walking, I saw a man, probably in his fifties, out for for a run, coming towards me at a pretty good clip. His shoe got caught the edge of a raised portion on the sidewalk and suddenly he started to fall towards me.

But he didn’t simply stumble and crumble to the ground. Adroitly, as if in slow motion, he rolled into the sidewalk on his shoulder and effortless came up again.

I stopped. Are you OK, I asked?

As he was examining his arm and the sidewalk behind him, he turned to me and replied, I have been running in the city for about about 30 years. On average about every three years I experience a fall.

That roll was amazing, I said.

Without missing a beat, he asked? How did I do? What score would you give me?

With a grin, I responded, 10 out of 10.

He gingerly rubbed the golf ball sized lump that had come up on his elbow and as he prepared to start running again, he turned to me and said:

Thanks for the good score!

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will. George Bernard Shaw.

The month of June is traditionally the month of university graduations. Ever so rarely, a graduation class is treated to a truly exceptional valedictorian – as was the Harvard class of 2008. The speaker was J.K. Rawling, of Harry Potter fame.

I happened upon her speech on TEDTalks last week. Find a few minutes to listen. It’s amazing… just what you might expect from a woman who imagined Harry Potter’s world even as she was struggling to put her own back together.

There’s something very special about graduations. They are a time of hope and love, of unbridled optimism and boundless opportunities. So much is invested in the graduates by themselves and their families. And I don’t just mean the money, although that’s a big part of it. There is the sacrifice, the hard work and dreams.

Sometimes the dreams work out. But sometimes they don’t. Life doesn’t always go according to plan… that’s the theme of her speech entitled The Fringe Benefits of Failure.

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This time, like all times, is a very good one if we but know what to do with it. Ralph Waldo Emerson.

If one were to constantly listen to the media, it would easy to think we are all going to hell in a hand basket. There is no glossing over the fact that we are not out of the woods yet and for many the future does, indeed, looks tenuous.

But it doesn’t have to for you. Having faith in themselves and in future has always been the hallmark of every successful person, regardless of the age in which they found themselves. Believing that the future is going to be better is part of their DNA.

The future has always beckoned to those willing to see new possibilities in the wreckage of the old and obsolete, regardless of how glum things might appear. Not for them the past nor a present governed by self-limiting beliefs. They trust in their own abilities and have confidence. For them, whatever the prevailing sentiment, the future is for there for the making.

Confidence – buttressed by courage. How’s your confidence level these days? Here are statements for your consideration:

1. I think the future will be better than the past.
2. I have lots of energy.
3. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of strategic thinking.
4. My interests continue to expand.
5. I am open to others and receptive to new ideas and ways of doing things.

Rate yourself. One is the lowest. Ten is highest.

How did you score? It’s not just the car that needs topping up. Sometimes it’s your spirit. How did you do? Could you use some topping up?

Remind yourself of just how much you have accomplished to date and recommit to what’s next in your future. And go for it.

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When I was young I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work. George Bernard Shaw.

How often have you come across someone who insists that her/his way is always the only way, the right way? It’s called hubris. From time to time, many of us have engaged in the process. It is easy to fall into the trap especially when you are on a roll.

But thinking that you have all the answers falsely feeds your ego. When you engage in such behaviour inevitably, over time, if you are not careful you begin to stop growing. When that happens the doors to new opportunities close and your horizons narrow. That’s because needing to be right all the time restricts your ability to see another’s point of view and open yourself to new ideas and options.

Worse still, all your valuable energy is expended into propping up and defending your own position instead of spending it adjusting to altered market conditions and changing mores.

The road is never a straight line. Life doesn’t go like that. It’s always one step forward, two back.

Have you ever noticed that many of the most successful people are those who have failed more times than they have succeeded?

They are the ones who are willing to admit that perhaps their way isn’t always the only way.

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You study, you learn, but you guard against the naivete within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover. Henri Matisse.

The thing that I have come to see over and over again with people who come to work with me is that already they know what they want. They know what the dream is – and they know what they need to do. Yet they hesitate.

Fear is the culprit. It comes in many disguises wrapped up as self-limiting beliefs. Here are a few:

• I’m too old.
• I haven’t enough experience.
• This isn’t the right time.
• I haven’t enough money.
• I’m over qualified.

Most of us, at one time or another, grapple with issues of growth. The fact that you are reading this now suggests that you, too, are probably in the midst of a growing cycle, seeking answers, looking for insight trying to figure out what to do next.

In the literature on life changes much is written about making a plan, following a proscribed number of steps, outlining your vision, setting your goals, picturing them clearly in your mind… but planning isn’t enough.

To realize your vision you need to take action and action requires a certain creative skill set – including exploring, risk taking, embracing change and insightfulness.

Like painting, growing, making a life change of some description isn’t easy. Courage trumps fear. Getting past it and developing and working on these skills is paramount. They are central to the process of change and growth.