Failure doesn’t define you…
As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to live in a world where it’s almost expect to put your best foot forward. On social media, movies, media, etc. we see people “crushing it” day-in and day-out. Truthfully, I’ve never met anyone that is struggling to make payroll or is on the brink of bankruptcy, but let me assure you, it’s more people that you think. It’s not till you become transparent with your own failures that others tend to open up about theirs.
Why is this? Why is it so important to show the world sucess vs. failure?
First off, failure isn’t bad! It’s hard to deal with in the storm, but it’s how a person learns what not to do next time. Sure, some failures are bigger than others and may have more repercussions, but failure, in it’s purest form, is actually a good thing.
I know this statement is easier said than done, and it’s still a hard pill to swallow. In the moment, 100% of all failure sucks *Fact! How a person learns and recovers from it is what makes that individual a stronger entrepreneur.
So how does one learn from failure?
- Failure can often feel like a divorce, or some kind of tragic life event. It absolutely requires some downtime to recover. It’s important to properly process the failure in a way that’s unique to the individual. For me, I wrap my life completely into my startup and having it fail really hurts. Giving yourself a moment to pause and let the failure sink in is what helps you with my second step.
- What have you learned? fail or not, you did something wrong that may or may not have been in your control. Determining exactly what happend is necessary to assist in moving past it and onto the next thing. Without this vital information, it’s not wise to move on. It’s really important that having a full understanding of what when wrong will keep you from making similar mistakes moving forward.
- Don’t be ashamed to temporarily do something else! Failing hard may require a temporary season of working a job to raise more funds. You may need to pay for food and shelter and this would require a person to seek employment. This is not a “step-back” and doesn’t make you any less of an entrepreneur. Sometimes shit happens and anyone that makes a person feel bad or any less for doing what they need to do should be ashamed.
- After enough time, get back to building something! Regardless if it’s 6-months or 6-years, thinking through a new problem and executing on it is what an entrepreneur does best! Don’t settle short for a sub-par idea that hardly solves a problem. Do something you’re passionate about and apply what you’ve learned!
I personally appreciate hearing entrepreneurs talk about the fails in their journey that defined their sucess. It wasn’t the failure that defined them, but it’s failure that started a journey to sucess. Choose to be great and don’t let fear hold you back from doing what you need to do.
