Are You a Loser?

byJamesGoolsby

481 followers

8 years ago

Have you ever considered yourself a loser? I know I have. In fact, I proudly still do. I just have a different definition of what that means.

Several years ago I needed a class to fulfill my science requirement in college. Through a series of unfortunate events – meaning I waited too long to register – the only class available was “Soil Science”. That’s right… dirt. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

The class had two sections: academic (math, chemistry, etc.) and a hands-on portion. Fast forward several months, and my experiment was going strong. With my wife’s much needed assistance, we had planted a series of seeds. Once they sprouted, we had a kitchen table full of tiny potted plants (they were actually kind of cute.)

I was required to take photos of the baby shoots to provide evidence that I had conducted the experiment properly. I was so excited. The experiment had worked. But then something went dreadfully wrong!

On the morning I was supposed to take my photos, we awoke to the sight of a dozen empty pots. Some were merely tipped over; some had been pushed completely off the table onto the floor. All, however, were missing the ever crucial green shoots. The incriminating evidence was quickly discovered when we noticed tiny little paw prints in the spilled soil.

Yes, my friends, my cat had eaten my homework.

I was devastated. I clearly didn’t have enough time to conduct the experiment again. So, I decided that I would not turn in any experiment material and simply hope that my academic portion would be enough to at least pull a passing grade. My wife, it seems, had another idea.

Here exact words were, “What have we got to lose?”

She took the photos, just like the assignment required. But what she took was photos of the mess. The empty pots. The missing plants. The spilled soil. She even took photos of the paw prints and a nice close up of the cat’s face. She packaged it all up, along with a humorous note describing what had happened. I was skeptical, but I submitted the package and awaited my fate.

The professor loved it. While it technically did not meet the requirements, there was enough there to prove I had done the experiment. And let’s face it… how many professors enjoy sharing the proverbial pet-ate-my-homework stories? She stated that she had not laughed that hard in years and, in the end, she gave me an A in the class.

What’s the lesson here? Had I given up, I would clearly not have done well in the class. So I took a chance and it paid off big time.

So, the next time you are hesitant to try something, consider my story. Sometimes we can accomplish great things merely by throwing something against the wall and seeing if it sticks. If that doesn’t work, try something else. If that doesn’t work, try something else. If that… well, you get the picture. What do you have to lose? If you’re going to lose anyway by doing nothing, you might as well go out swinging.

Be a loser. Seriously. You might just be surprised at what you get.