British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once stated “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
While this statement is true and inspiring, it’s often difficult to believe when we actually find ourselves feeling like a failure in business or life. The interesting thing about failure is that it’s a part of life from the time we’re old enough to attempt anything of value.
Think about it…
A baby decides one day that it’s time to learn how to walk. What happens? They grab onto something sturdy and begin walking alongside it. They inevitably fall down. Do they stay down and quit? No! They get up and try again until their legs are strong enough to hold them. They keep going until they are confident enough to let go and stumble across the room into the loving arms of their parents or grandparents. Eventually, their “failures” turn into success.
Or what about a child who is learning to ride a bike? They often start with training wheels, then graduate to a parent holding onto the bike seat to keep them balanced, and then one day their parent lets go and they’re off on their own…at least until they look back and are afraid because they’re on their own. That’s when they often crash. But guess what? They get up and try again until they gain the confidence to ride freely on their own.
So, the question is this – if kids can overcome failure repeatedly in order to achieve ultimate success, why do adults struggle so much?
Why do we think that building a business will be easy when we’ve never done it before?
Why do we expect instant success at any new venture?
Why do we think that our “first draft” has to be our “final draft”? It never happened that way in school, did it? No!
Failure isn’t final unless you quit. That being said, we do need to mentally prepare to “fail” repeatedly in our entrepreneurial journeys. It’s just reality.
If failure is going to happen, what can we do to bounce back when it does? Consider the following 4 critical actions:
1 – Keep Perspective
This is one of the most challenging things to do when you’re facing failure. When we struggle in any way, we tend to lose perspective. We begin to feel that the world is coming to an end and everything is falling apart. When you find yourself feeling like this, it’s time to stand up, take a walk, take a deep breath, and somehow change your environment. If we wallow in our struggles staring at a computer screen isolated in our offices or homes, we’ll never be able to overcome our obstacles. Remember that Thomas Edison “failed” 10,000 times on his way to developing the light bulb. However, he didn’t see each one as a failure, but rather viewed them as 10,000 ways NOT to make a light bulb. Embrace failure as “feedback” that helps you discover new ways of how NOT to do something in your business, then move on with new and better thoughts.
2 – Lean on Others
Too many entrepreneurs attempt to be successful as a solo act, but even “solopreneurs” need others to help them succeed. Whether it’s through business partners, outsourcing to contractors, or having a personal board of advisors, we all succeed with the help of others. It’s very rare that someone is truly “self-made” on their own. Lean on the people who love and support you. Invite colleagues into your journey. If you’re a person of faith, ask your fellow believers and spiritual leaders to support you in prayer. Whatever it takes, don’t try to do business or life alone. Fulfillment and success come in greater ways through being a part of a supportive community.
3 – Develop a “Don’t Quit” Attitude
A large part of success is mastering the mental game. If you believe you can persevere until you find the answers you need, you’re more likely to achieve your goals. If you don’t believe you can succeed, you’ve lost before you even begin. Developing a “don’t quit” attitude takes time and is part of the process of entrepreneurship. The bigger the vision or dream, the more challenging it will be to achieve it. That doesn’t mean you should give up, but rather you need to be prepared to press on despite your fears and doubts. Most successful people wanted to quit many times in their lives, but the reason they ended up successful was that they didn’t “throw in the towel” or “wave the white flag” of surrender. Stay the course. Keep moving forward.
4 – Embrace and Enjoy the Journey
Entrepreneurship can be equated to mountain climbing. You see the vision of the peak of the mountain that you want to reach, but between base camp and the peak, there is much treacherous terrain to navigate. If you only look at the hard parts of climbing your way to success, you’ll get discouraged and ultimately quit. Consistently revisit your dream or vision so it will pull you through the tough spots. When you have difficult days or weeks, embrace the fact that you are growing into the person you need to be in order to achieve the vision you have for your business and life. When you choose to embrace and enjoy the journey, you’ll find yourself having a much better mindset and will have the ability to keep perspective and persevere when the going gets tough.
Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart. However, everyone who has built something of value gone through the challenges you face in some way, shape, or form. It’s part of the process. The reality is that many people aren’t aware of how challenging the journey will be when they start and therefore get discouraged quickly at the first sign of difficulty. It’s normal. Give yourself grace. Take care of your mind, body, and soul. Self-care is critical to any form of success, especially when it comes to overcoming setbacks and seeming failure.
Remember that failure isn’t final, it’s feedback. Learn from your mistakes and challenges, then rise up to take another step forward. When you finally achieve your dream, you’ll be glad you didn’t quit and you’ll also be able to encourage others to keep chasing their dreams and goals.
If you would like help building a business around your message that generates consistent income month after month, then check out Design Launch Grow today!