Embrace the F Word
No, not that F-word. We’re talking about the F-word that everyone tries to avoid but remains stubbornly ubiquitous in the business world: failure.
It strikes fear into the hearts of men and women everywhere. It’s a paralytic that cripples even the most entrepreneurial spirit. The thing we don’t want is what we can’t seem to avoid focusing on: “What if this doesn’t work? What if I/we/our business fails?”
I have some comforting news for you. You will fail. That’s right, I want you to take comfort in the idea that you absolutely will fail at some point. Embrace it. Own it. It is the only way, that bears repeating, it is the only way you will be successful at anything.
Failure means you have taken some risk. Failure means you stepped out of your comfort zone. You tried. That’s exactly what it takes to ever succeed. It also takes time. There’s no movie-moment of sudden inspiration or dramatic change accompanied by an instrumental score with success. It’s quiet and tedious. It has to happen every day.
Real monumental success walks hand-in-hand with every day trial and failure.
The most important part of those failures is figuring out what you can do better next time. Whether you lost a sale when you didn’t follow up because your CRM system failed you, or you lost your company because your business plan failed, you have an opportunity to correct, change, and improve next time. Rather than being stuck in the tired marketing and sales cycles that are masquerading as “tried and true” when they are antiquated and ineffective, try succeeding by thinking differently.
It’s time to understand that you have what it takes to make your business thrive, grow your company into whatever you want it to be and succeed beyond your wildest dreams…if you are ready to fail a lot first.
