I Wish for You Colossal Business Failures
Like it or not, failure is the only way to succeed.
A friend of mine came to me last week and said, “I think I’m finally ready to start my business.”
I cheered and threw a little confetti on her.
Then she sighed and said, “I know I might fail, but … you know, I think that’s okay.”
I laughed and said, “Oh no, my dear friend, you WILL fail. You will fail BIG.”
Ignoring her horrified expression, I continued, “Failure is inevitable. It’s a sign that you’re doing stuff. You want to be failing because if you’re failing then you’re trying, and that’s what it’s all about.”
I’m not sure if I scared her off or not, but she’s going to have to face it now or later.
If you approach your business with the idea that you’re going to do amazingly well, or that you’ll at least to pretty well and not make too many mistakes, you’ll bury yourself before you’ve even begun.
Creation is messy.
Whether you’re creating a business, a product, a book, or a sales page, you’re going to get it all wrong many, many times before you get it right. When I started coaching years ago, I gave away hundreds of hours for free. I was building my skill set, discovering the value of my contribution and exploring my primary demographic.
And I was making mistakes.
I was also getting training and education from people and institutions I trusted. I was honing my expertise, learning what I wanted to create in my business, and getting better and better at what I wanted to do.
Taking the first few steps doesn’t mean that we’re ready to do it all perfectly, it simply means that we’re ready to begin.
And beginning is what it’s all about.
The first step is the hardest and it’s the one that people avoid the most. It’s so scary to put ourselves out there. There’s always another class to take, or another certification to get, or another way to avoid declaring who we are and what we’re capable of.
So, please fail. Fail big. Fail HUGE.
Risk BIG things. Be daring and bold. Believe that you can make a real difference and dive in. On the grandest scale, failure and missteps leave us so much richer than successes on a small scale. Go for it. Bigger problems and bigger risks are signs that you are living in a bigger way.
I wish for you tremendous failures, colossal failures because that’s when you’ll know you’re making a difference.
Then, feel good about the effort, not the result.
Give yourself credit before the payoff. Pat yourself on the back for going further than most people will. Take the first step for everyone else who doesn’t know how to, and accept the inevitable success or failure with grace, acceptance and forgiveness.
Then, begin again.
If you can do that, you will be unstoppable.
The determination in your heroic effort will permeate your mind and heart even after your success or failure is long forgotten.
~ Sri Chinmoy
