What if I Fail? Coping Mechanisms For The Monkey Mind in Startup Mode

What if my startup ventures fail? Well… the numbers pretty much tell me that I’m going to. Ok… now what?

Something that I found extremely helpful to ask is, “What’s the worst case scenario?”

Is the worst case scenario that I will become homeless? That no one will ever hire me again and I’ll have to roam the world like a nomad without having two nickels to rub together?!

Obviously not! Realistically the worst case scenario is that I’ll have to work for another tech company earning close to $100,000 a year, an engineer’s salary. …. Wow…. sounds terrible :)

When we truly ask ourselves what the worst case scenario for starting a business is ( or doing anything considered risky ) and then ask, “Is this the condition I so feared?”, we usually find that it truly wouldn’t be that bad. A minor speed bump through life even.

Another technique to calm the monkey mind on thoughts of inevitable failure is to create value through the experience of the journey. Another way of saying this is to create Win-Win situations on ventures that you take.

For me, I decided that my first few projects in Startup Life was going to be mobile apps. I specifically chose this because I knew that even if these app failed and didn’t make any money at all, the skills I would have to learn in order to build them would be extremely valuable to future employers ( if it ever came to that point ). IOS programming is one of the top two paying skills for engineers to have currently, Ruby On Rails is the other, which I already have experience in. So basically… through success or failure, I will be doing pretty well. Win-Win.

My last technique is basically embracing the fact that I will fail. The numbers do not lie. Everyone one fails at some point. But… if I try enough different things, hopefully one of them ( or several of them ) will pan out.

I’m betting that most of my startup ideas will fail.

This is part of the reason why during my 365 Day of Startup Life, I am choosing to do several projects instead of one big project. Not everything I do is going to click with my customers, but I am hoping that there will be one or two that will really nail it.

I’m betting on failing. I’m betting that most of my startup ideas will fail. And the interesting thing about that is… you don’t always win when you bet with the majority. Sometimes that ball lands on the double-zero. Sometimes that dealer has the blackjack… and when that happens… that project that’s clicking with customers will soar!

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