Josh's Weekly Insights - September 24, 2026

“It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.”

-Chuck Palahniuk

Sometimes in life we go through moments that are extremely painful. Those moments challenge us and often times leave scars. Because of the scars, those moments stay with us much longer than our greatest successes. That is why pain is the greatest teacher.

Keep that in mind as a leader. So many times, we try to help our team or our kids avoid pain. However, if we help them avoid pain we also keep them from receiving the learning experience. When my kids were young, I would tell people, “I am not trying to avoid letting them get hurt. I only want to avoid letting them get injured.” I was making the distinction between moments that are just painful and moments that actually leave lasting damage.

As you grow your career, it is important to be able to identify those moments. Which ones have could cause pain but ultimately have low risk versus which ones could really derail your future? This boils down to risk management and understanding the cost of a mistake. If you never risk anything, yes, it is safer. And yes, you probably won’t lose that often. However, if you never push your chips to the center of the table you can’t win either.

So my encouragement this week is to remember that pain teaches important lessons. Find times where you can take controlled risks that may not be successful but will help you learn something and grow your career. If you do this, you will get further than if you avoid taking the chance.

Now get out there and crush your week!