You're Going to Mess Up

𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠.

I still recall my first 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 in the digital world.

I was setting up a digital ad campaign for a client, my first time handling it solo. I went through every step. Or at least I thought I did.

I hit send and moved on, feeling good about it.
But a coworker, working on something else on the same platform, double-checked my work.

I had forgotten to adjust the budget —a minor oversight on 'paper' — but if it hadn't been caught, it would have resulted in a major financial mistake. My mistake.

I learned two big things that day:
▪️  Double-check everything. Then check again.
▪️  Be thankful for the people who have your back, because good teams catch mistakes before they become problems.

The same goes for the firehouse: it's a team sport; no one is on their own.

We catch each other. We own our mistakes. And we get better together.

You're going to screw up.

Own it, fix it, and thank the person who saves you from yourself.

Josh Friedrich is a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Lewisville Fire Department in Lewisville, Texas, and the former Treasurer of the Lewisville Fire Fighters Association, IAFF Local 3606. With nearly two decades in the fire service, he brings a practical leadership perspective to both emergency response and organizational service.He serves as the Director of Digital Advocacy at NEP Services, where he supports labor organizations and nonprofit groups nationwide through strategic advocacy, digital infrastructure, public messaging, and member engagement initiatives.