Learning to Lead and Making Mistakes

Macklin Method session leader Joanne Rusch caught up with one of MacklinConnection’s newest workshop leaders, Garrett Macklin. In this video interview, Garrett reflects on what he’s learned from his experience as a co-leader, the impact it’s had on his personal business, and his advice for anyone who feels like they’re in a post-pandemic funk. Watch the full interview, or read the interview highlights below.

On learning to be a leader and the impact this new responsibility has had on him:

“When you're responsible for creating the space for a group of people to grow and learn and make their lives better, you have a whole new level of commitment that just shows up. It’s a whole other level of responsibility. Not only is there the downside of failing, but if I succeed, I help provide a space for them to create a better life. That's really cool.”‍

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On how to handle failure:‍

“For years, I rejected any responsibility and blamed the world for things that went wrong. As I matured, I naturally started blaming myself, which wasn't really helpful or productive. This allowed me to not see mistakes as mistakes but as the only way to learn. Sucking at something is the first step to being sort of good at something. I would rather go and fail as fast and as big as I can because that's how I will learn the most.”

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‍How establishing trusting relationships helped expand his property management business: ‍

“For a long time, it was just me learning how to operate a business. It was helpful for a period of time because I was letting go of my mistakes and just there to learn. There were many days where I made mistakes and wanted to quit or walk away or blame people or just not be helpful to myself.

In the middle of renovating my first house I had an injury that took me out of the game. Suddenly I was sitting around freaking out because there was all this stuff to be done and I couldn’t do any of it. I finally reached out to an old friend of mine and offered him some money to come help me. He came literally the same day. All the things that were stressing me out for a whole week and a half, he just got it done. 

I then had the idea to offer my cousin a job. Four days later, I went from zero employees to two. Together we were able to get everything done much faster than I had initially planned, and we made up all the time that I lost. I've since made them full-time permanent employees. Now I don't need to do any work on houses. I can focus on the business side of everything. I’ve got all these people that I trust and that are super helpful and useful. I can just let go of that and not have to worry about it.”‍

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His advice for anyone who feels like they’re in a post-pandemic funk and needs a fresh outlook:‍

“Whenever people feel like the future doesn't look so bright, I think of this meme:

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The first half is saying, this is your life so far, and these are all the paths that you could have taken. This line right here in the middle is today. No matter what path you've taken to get to this point, starting today, there are infinite paths going forward. You just have to choose a path and then go.”

Watch the full interview here:

Learn more about Macklin Method's newest workshop, Living Your Best Life, here: https://www.macklinconnection.com/programs/living-your-best-life