What Will Your Next Note Be?
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What Will Your Next Note Be?
I recently read a quote from legendary musician Miles Davis that stopped me in my tracks…
“It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note—it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.”
This isn’t just about music. This is about life.
No matter how much you’ve prepared for the moment, wrong notes happen. The mistake. The failure. The setback.
But the quote reminds us of an important truth:
The misstep doesn’t define you. Your next move does.
I often wonder how many extraordinary people wasted their entire lives for fear of playing one wrong note. They stayed on the sidelines. They blended in with the crowd. Even when their heart wanted to be in the arena.
All for fear of one wrong note.
A standard of perfection has killed more dreams than it has enabled. Perfection is the enemy. Adaptation is your dearest friend.
Charles Darwin famously said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change.”
It’s not about avoiding the wrong note. It’s about adapting when it inevitably comes. It’s about resilience. Grit. Course-correction. Transformation.
My college pitching coach at Stanford had a saying he would call out whenever you found yourself in a tough spot in the game:
“You’re one pitch away!”
It was a powerful reminder in the chaos of the moment:
No matter where you find yourself today, you’re always just one beautifully executed pitch (or note) away from being in a better place.
So, no matter what your wrong note was. No matter how bad it sounded. No matter how discouraged you feel. Never let your last note define you…
What will your next note be?
