Why Failing is the Path to Success

Have you been experiencing failures in your startup? If you have, you’re not alone. Most successful startups and entrepreneurs experience failure at some point in their lives and careers. What distinguishes those who are successful and those who are not is how failure is handled. In order to find success, failure needs to be embraced. By changing your perspective on failure and how you handle it when it inevitably comes your way, you can learn a lot and find success quicker.

Q4 last year I worked with a startup that had two leaders. Both of them were incredibly passionate about the project, and they truly believed they had something special. Within six months however, it became clear that their startup was going to fail. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, it just wasn’t the right product for the market. In this instance, it wasn’t the failing that was the issue, it was how the leaders handled it.

One of them was ready to learn from their mistakes and move on. She was optimistic about future success in spite of their current situation, and she believed that they needed to focus their attention and time on a completely different aspect of their startup. While she was upset for couple weeks, she quickly moved on and was ready to move forward.

However, the second leader was not in the same boat. He was worried that their failure would ruin their reputation, and he felt that their best bet was to try to make the original project work and not give up on it. His frustration and passion got the best of him, and in the end, he couldn’t let go of the original project. The two leaders ended up parting ways, with the first eventually finding her way to success.

Accepting Failure

No matter how hard you work and how passionate you are, failure is in many cases going to happen. Working on a startup, you need to understand that failure is likely and normal, and it can be looked at as a positive learning. Failure can be a good thing if you understand that you got much closer to success. Follow these steps to accept your failure and move on.

• Accept it: Some things are out of your control, and accepting that will help you get over being upset. Creating a startup is a marathon, not a sprint, so use your failure as a lesson and continue to move on.
• Find others in the same boat: Surround yourself with other startups who may be going through the same thing, or something similar. You don’t want to find others who are in the same boat so you can all complain together, though. Use them as a support system, and be there for each other in the good times and the bad.
• Take a step back: You may be completely passionate and believe 100% in what you are doing, but if you are failing, that means something is not working. Rather than dwell on it, though, take a step back from the situation and clear your head. It may seem counterproductive, but taking some time off of your startup to visit friends or family and focus on what is the most important can help put things in perspective. Your failure is not the end of things, and once you clear your head, you can continue to move forward.
• Get back on the horse: Developing a startup is not for the faint of heart. It is a tough business, and it requires you to separate your feelings from your business. Use your passion and dedication to your advantage and get back on the horse using the lessons you’ve learned from your failure. If you continue to persevere, you will be successful.
• Be realistic: Seeing success with your startup can take years and years. Those who are truly successful put in the hard work every day and don’t expect to be an overnight success. Most successful companies and entrepreneurs have failed at some point in their careers.
• Lean methodology: Save yourself brain power, time, and money by learning the lean methodology. Validate your assumptions before you spend all of your efforts on one project.

Learning and Moving Forward

90% of startups fail, but great startups can turn their failures into lessons and move on successfully. How you deal with your failure will determine how successful you will be, and it says a lot about you as an individual.

1. Understand the importance of failure: Failure doesn’t mean that you have nothing to show for your efforts. It means that you weren’t afraid and went for what you wanted. You can’t have great success without great risk, so it’s important to not be afraid of failing. Rather than turning a blind eye to your failure or being upset about it for an extended period of time, recognize that you failed and make up your mind to learn from it.
2. Analyze and learn from your failure: After you’ve accepted that failure can be good for you, dig deeper into the specifics of why your startup project failed. Did you something wrong? Did you do things right? What would you do differently if you could do it again? Everything you learn from your failure can be used to get a head start on your next effort, and you’ll be prepared to do better next time.
3. Don’t just ask yourself those questions, too. If you have surrounded yourself with others in the same boat as you like I suggested above, you can present your failure to them and see if an outside perspective can be helpful. Ask for input from other people at your startup, and get their ideas as to why things failed. It’s not uncommon for startups to fail, so don’t be embarrassed to be open about your failure.
4. Take the information forward into your next opportunity: Now that you’ve analyzed what went wrong with your startup, take the information and use it in your next opportunity. If you use the lessons you’ve learned, you are much more likely to be more successful the next time around.

One essential lesson is to fail more quickly. If you are stuck in a bad idea, don’t keep trying to make it work. Move through it to arrive at great ideas that will allow you to be successful and propel you forward. Don’t make the same mistake twice.

As the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens. The key is to not focus too long on the closed door, and look forward to the open one. Brainstorm new ideas, research ways to be successful, and don’t let your failures steal your motivation.

Changing Your Attitude about Failure

Our society tells us failure is bad. We hate to fail, and some people may even live in fear of failure. When failure happens, as it inevitably does, many people tend to cling to it and allow it to control their emotions. Some people may even stop trying altogether in order to avoid failure. As a startup, failures need to be embraced, as they are likely to happen. Consider these ways to change your attitude about failure.

• Failure is not your identity: Just because your startup hasn’t found success yet doesn’t mean you as an individual are a failure. While there is separation between you and your startup, many of us are guilty of blurring the lines between the two and making failure personal, allowing your self-esteem and confidence to take the hit.
• Look at failure analytically: Rather than cling to your feelings of anger, shame, regret, or frustration, take an analytical approach to your failure. Approach your failure for the sole purpose of gathering facts from it. Instead of allowing it to control your emotions, turn it into a thing to be studied, and ask yourself what you can learn from it. Apply any new information or insight you gather to your endeavors as you move forward. When you can eliminate the ways your startup doesn’t work, it allows you to focus in on the ways that it will be successful.
• Don’t obsess: Dwelling on your failure isn’t going to change things. It may actually do the opposite as you obsess over things. You get trapped into an emotional loop that prevents you from moving on out of fear or shame. Once you have failed, there is nothing you can do to un-fail. However, you can take positive steps forward and ensure that your next effort will be a success. The faster you move forward, the quicker you can leave the negative thoughts behind you.
• If you have a tendency to dwell on your failures, give yourself a timeline. For example, you can have 24 hours to feel the emotions of your failure deeply and focus on them. After the 24 hours is up, you need to put those negative feelings behind you and focus on preparing for your next effort. Keep your failures in perspective.
• Lose the fear of being judged: Maybe you are afraid of your startup failing because you don’t want to be judged or lose other people’s respect. This failure is your own, not theirs, and you shouldn’t allow what other people say or think to influence you. People on the outside may not know the whole truth about why your startup failed, and if you give their opinions too much power, it could have a negative effect on your confidence and ability to succeed. If you allow the judgement of others to prevent you from trying again, you’ll never be successful.
• Think of it optimistically: Shifting your perspective about failure will help you have a healthier attitude towards it. Failing once doesn’t mean you are destined to fall short. Rather, failing is just getting you a step closer to succeeding.

You’re in Good Company

You will be hard-pressed to find a success story, either from the past or current day, that hasn’t failed at some point in their lives and careers. Those who have distinguished themselves by their successes are likely to tell you that failing was critical to their achievements. Failure was likely their motivator, and they learned from their failures. They used failure as a stepping stone to success and never gave up. Here are some examples of famous failures.

• Abraham Lincoln: President Lincoln didn’t fail just once or twice. He failed in business, politics, and struggled with loss and mental health issues throughout his life. He fought against the many odds stacked up against him to become President of the United States at 52 years old, and achieved greatness.
• Arianna Huffington: One of the most recognized names in online publications was once rejected by 36 major publishers when she tried to publish her second book. She later started Huffington Post.
• Steve Jobs: Jobs made a number of huge mistakes that ultimately led to his success including hiring someone who fired him from his own company, trying to sell Pixar, and launching multiple failed products. Even the greatest visionaries are imperfect.
• Thomas Edison: Edison learned from his many failures to ultimately find success in inventing the light bulb. He famously stated, “I have found 10,000 ways something won’t work. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”
• Bill Gates: His first company as an entrepreneur was a humongous failure. However, he kept persevering and later founded Microsoft and enjoyed great success.
• Evan Williams: The co-founder of Twitter originally started a podcasting site that failed miserably thanks to Apple starting a podcast platform. Instead of giving up, he founded Twitter.

TAKEAWAY

Even the greatest minds of history and of our time have experienced failure in their lives. Most of them failed multiple times, so as a startup, you shouldn’t be too surprised when you fail, or dwell on it too much. If you have the right perspective and learn from your failure, it can be used as a stepping stone to your eventual startup success.

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Originally published at whatittak.es.