EP: 86 - Failure Is Not An Option ...!

“Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be.” ~ John Wooden
 

Welcome to Episode 86: Failure Is Not An Option ...!

Failure is an inescapable part of life and business and a critically important part of any successful life. It’s about accepting said “failures” and making room for improvement.

Failure is not an option.

Defeats and failures happen often in the land of entrepreneurship. More often than I care to admit. However, we should do our best to not let them get us down but regard them as milestones instead. We can choose to wallow and let said moment define us -- perhaps even forever. Or we can choose to look at it as room for improvement and a temporary setback as we continue our journey. In short, we gotta refuse to lose. 

Here's what we will be untangling in this episode ...

• A poem about failure not being an option
• When did we subscribe to failure as a bad thing?
• Three (3) means to overcome failure
• Re-cap: deconstructing failure
• How to manage failure (aka. room for improvement) 

Are you ready?
Pop in your awesome earbuds and let's dive in!

Transcript

It doesn't matter if I suffer from exhaustion
 Failure is not an option
 This could be my only chance
 Time to get out there and dance!
 
 All my life I've trained for this day
 I have to win, there is no other way
 I've got to go out there and put on a show
 This opportunity I can NOT blow.
 
 I've practiced too much to lose it all
 I've got to be right on the ball
 Now's no time for "Try your best."
 My hard work has to manifest!
 
 I swear I will make everyone proud
 I'll make the audience cheer so loud
 There are no risks that I can take
 I will not make even one mistake!
 
 I am the best, no one is better
 I've got to keep myself together
 Make this performance your best reprise
 Shoo away those butterflies!
 
 Now I'm going on in 5, 4, 3,
 I feel bad for those facing me
 So competition take some caution
 Because failure is not an option. 
 

----- 
 

That poem I just shared with you is by a lovely woman named Anya. I came across it one day as I was hunting down some motivation after a terribly hard virtual day. It brough me hope. It brought me joy. And it reminded me that failure is not an option. Failure is something that’s required in order to succeed. And it’s a choice. 

My question today, one I’ve been pondering on for a while …

Why are people so afraid of failure? 

Where in history did we first subscribe to the notion that failure is always something bad? 
 

Failure is an inescapable part of life and business and a critically important part of any successful life. It’s about accepting said “failures” and making room for improvement.

Failure is not an option.

Defeats and failures happen often in the land of entrepreneurship. More often than I care to admit. However, we should do our best to not let them get us down but regard them as milestones instead. We can choose to wallow and let said moment define us -- perhaps even forever. Or we can choose to look at it as room for improvement and a temporary setback as we continue our journey.

In short, we gotta refuse to lose. 

Nobody likes to admit they were wrong or that they made a mistake. That's why the first impulse of most of us when face-to-face with failure is to cast around for other people to blame on circumstances that we potentially couldn't control. And this isn’t just true in the land of the virtual living, this is also true in any company -- whether it has 3 or 3,000 employees. We're only human after all – and the stories we tell ourselves define us, and we’ll do everything we can to preserve that self-narrative. (And our brand.)

What I’m getting at here is that NO ONE is exempt from this.

If you’re a creative like me, have you ever noticed that when you’re in an extreme stressed state of mind, being creative seems utterly impossible?

This happens because our left brain shuts down, which just so happens to be your “seat” of logic. The right side of your brain is intuitive, holistic, and creative.

Whether you’re creative or not, here’s 3 means to overcome failure:

1. Harness your potential,
2. Reframe how you think of failure, and
3. Avoid fixed outcomes. 

Back in episode 77, I talked a lot about fear and failure. And those two things sometimes go hand-in-hand playing a big role in your success. So, let’s re-hash that specific section: Deconstructing FAILURE.

I truly believe that everyone is born equipped to bless others with a gift only they have. Even though many people do what they do in the marketplace, only they can do it in such a way that can’t be duplicated. And by that, I mean YOU!

We are all special unique snowflakes who are going to change the world. That’s why we land ourselves in the world of entrepreneurship in the first place. However, comparison strikes again … 

We have social platforms constantly telling us how amazing everyone else’s businesses and lives are, but not our own, so we feel like utter crap and wonder where it all went wrong. How we failed not only ourselves, but the world.

The failure to meet our own expectations is not contrary to our happiness, argumentatively, that our ability to fail and still appreciate the experience that’s right in front of us, is actually a fundamental building block for happiness.

Plain and simple folks … shit happens!

Things go wrong. People frustrate us beyond belief. Mistakes are made and negative emotions arise. And that’s all fine and dandy. But this notion that we’re built to fail and not recover from it is something that’s a work in progress for many. So, the best thing we can do for ourselves in this straining moment is to LET GO of the imagined result; it’s not necessary. The fantasy and the dream are merely tools to shove you in the right direction. Failure is going to happen, but these are mere moments of learning and growing. They’re inevitable and you can’t stop them. So, don’t let them. Learn, adapt, pivot, and keep going.

So, I say to you … Raise your expectations. Don’t limit yourself to small, portioned goals. Create ridiculous standards for yourself, and then savour the inevitable failure … let the virtual ground crack and rocks crumble around you, because that’s how something truly amazing grows, through the cracks.

Procrastination, fear (in all its forms) and negative self-talk are not welcome at this table any longer! 

If you think about it, the way one manages failure will shape one’s business culture. It's often a case of focusing on your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses. (And the same goes for your team too, by the way.) It's acknowledging that a failed project, task, or launch was an against-all-odds risk -- but a risk worth taking.

Running a business, no matter what type or what size, comes with a certain amount of stress. And not only do we have our personal lives to think about and take care of, but we’ve got our business and our work family and the success of our brand, vision, dream, success goals, and team to consider as well.

I honestly truly believe that it takes a special and “different” kind of person to be a successful entrepreneur. It’s not a life for everyone. And that’s okay.

In my experience, the ones who ENDURE, who PERSEVERE, who HANG IN there, and who ADAPT, get stronger! They learn that “hey, I can do this!” and you know what … their adventure usually turned out to be a win -- no matter the size.

So, maybe you’re having a tough day, a tough week, a tough year, a tough launch … Maybe you have to downsize a bit, cut back on some expenses, delay growing your team, push back on that huge deadline a little bit longer … 

Maybe you have to shrink a little to grow -- a little or a lot … 

Maybe you have to take five steps back in order to take two huge steps forward … 

Whatever your case may be, when you figure out a way to start moving forward again, that’s when your life will change -- and that’s when YOU will CHANGE the LIVES of OTHERS! 

If I have a mishap, make a mistake, and fail, I try again, and again, and again.

If you fail, are you going to try again? 
 

“Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be,”
~ John Wooden

 
The human spirit can handle much worse than most of us realize. It just matters HOW you plan to finish … You’re on the right track, go easy on yourself.

So, let me ask you … don’t you want to finish strong?