I’ve been through what you’ve been through. A couple of times. Your choices don’t have to be so black and white. And they don’t have to be approached that way, either.

You’ve had an experience few people have had. You know first-hand what can go wrong and — if you’re honest — why. You are right about who was “responsible”: you. So was I, regardless of the external factors. That’s why we sat in that chair. You take the credit for good and bad.

That doesn’t mean you can’t have regrets, and that you can’t admit to making mistakes. But, there’s much more to going through the process, and most people simply don’t know what that is…and never will. I suspect the CEO that castigated you is truly insecure and has probably gotten away with more mistakes than you’ve ever made. Sometimes — no, most times — it’s all about luck and timing.

Going back out with all this great new experience embedded into your perspective only makes you stronger (if you recognize it as such). Failures are only valuable if you’re paying attention. And it looks like you have.

This is not an SV vulnerability (though SV sure knows how to magnify the smallest of things!), it’s a human vulnerability. But you have to use it to put even more wind in your sails. That next CEO position you hold won’t be any easier.