Dreams and plans for a desired future are shattered in a single moment. And it's irreversible. It's final. Now, you must go back and start again.
But... Do you know what the worst part about failure is?
It's that you knew you were going to fail the entire time. You just chose to ignore it, to sweep it under the rug, to focus on the positive.
This voice had been whispering to you the entire time, it told you what would happen. The signs were there, the writing was on the wall, you just chose to ignore it and hope for the best (aka wishful thinking).
But you didn't know if the voice was telling the truth or not. That was until the failure happened. It's in that moment that you realized the voice was right all along. That is the worst part about failure.
Experiencing failure is a crucial part of development. I can tell immediately whether somebody has "been there" and "seen it" before.
Once you've been there and experienced it, you're never the same. Before failure, you didn't know where that line was. The line that you can't cross, because doing so means death. You're blissfully unaware.
But after failure, you know exactly where that line is, and when you're on the wrong side of it, you can't just sit there and tolerate the inevitable.
You have to do something about it, you have to push yourself, push others, talk about things nobody wants to talk about, and be "mean" in the eyes of those who haven't seen what happens when you don't do what's required.
Failure gives you survival instincts, and once you learn from it, you start optimizing for business survival, not what others think is "a decent effort".
So... If you're an entrepreneur reading this piece...
You know exactly what I'm talking about. You know what that failure voice is whispering to you. You can see the foreshadowing.
The only question is: What are you going to do about it?
You can continue blissfully unaware —or— you can change the trajectory while it's still possible.
Changing the trajectory means looking at everything in your business: the people, the culture, work ethic, values, habits, products, decision making patterns, competitors, market trends, technology, finances, everything...and start to make necessary adjustments where needed.
Start now before it's too late.
If there's one common lesson to be learned from the diverse experiences of successful business owners, it’s that there will always to overcome obstacles and plans to mitigate. No one goes from zero to hero without breaking a sweat or feeling that all hope is lost.
This is likely one reason why the vast majority of startups fail. Somewhere along the way, those business owner(s) came up against a major hurdle --lack of budget, dissatisfied customers or an unexpected competitor -- and fell so hard they didn’t even try to get back up.
Yet, when it comes down to it, there is always a way forward. It may not always be obvious, comfortable or even smart. But if you’re going to succeed, it’s up to you to find it!
