If we watch the seven letter word "Failure" closely you will find the word "Lure" hidden into it, which symbolize failure has the ability to lure you to give up easily. It happens when you are dominated by FEAR of FAILURE – the ugly truth of entrepreneurship that sometimes become so powerful that in each choice we make and each endeavor we undertake, it prevents us from pursuing our goals. It is at those times when we are faced with the greatest opportunities that this fear is strongest, intimidating us with thoughts that we will fail.
Why is it that so many people are driven by the fear of failure, rather than the lure of success?
I'm no stranger to these rough roads. But I learned extremely important things from my failures, things that propelled me to be successful - success that I'm enjoying today.
The fact is ‘The only person you can control is yourself and the only person who can help you is yourself because you are your biggest advantage.’
It’s human nature to compete with others. Almost everyone in your life will let you down at some point but you are the only person you can count on 100% of the time. Once you realize you are the only one in control of your destiny, you can begin to make a significant change, though not easy.
Failures are simply lessons learnt, if it is a pre-requisite to success then why do we stigmatize it so much? Why do we celebrate only success and not learning’s from a failure?
Unfortunately, failure is something most of us want to avoid. The problem with this approach is that ignoring failure won’t make it go away, it only encourages it. Those who fail and learn from it are less likely to make the same mistake twice. And if they do, well, sometimes failure has its own rewards.
Fail Fast and Fail Often
Failing fast means finding the nippiest path to failure by tackling the trickiest, hardest or the most difficult work first.
And failing often gets you closer to a better solution. It’s important to know that ‘getting it right the last time is more important than getting it right the first time’.
Cultivate the practice of building through ‘trial-and-error’. Get feedback and work on it.
Do not hesitate to ‘Walk-the-talk’ as Failure teaches you things that nothing else can teach you.
If an entrepreneur admits his failure, I smile. The bigger the failure, the more I celebrate. Don’t take me wrong - It's not because other people’s misery is exciting, it's because they have learned lessons that no one else on earth could have taught them. Failure makes you learn things that were actually important but were ignored.
To initiate making real progress after a failure, first of all, it’s important to know your comfort and un-comfort zones i.e. where you are most comfortable, most skilled and most proficient and where you feel most uncomfortable, most uncertain and the most unsure of yourself.
One needs to have ‘GRIP’ to take those first steps:
- “G” - Guts: It is that secret superpower that allows one to overcome adversity and steer clear through life’s many obstacles and challenges. It’s about living in the moment and doing things you are afraid of ‘right now’ - not tomorrow or three years down the line. It's about being confident in your opinion, voicing that opinion and not being afraid to disagree with people.
- “R” – Resolution: It determines how hard one can fight for their dreams. A resolution does not include ‘Ifs’ and ‘Buts’ or "would have," "could have" and "should have." A person just goes for it without thinking too long about things.
- “I”- Initiative: It is that entrepreneurial spirit that inspires one to act on their biggest ideas. With initiatives, comes the risk of failure - either it takes you forward into a new direction, or if you fail, it opens new avenues of learning for you.
- “P” – Perseverance: It allows one to bounce back from life’s many defeats to enjoy the fruits of labor and eventual success. It is that insatiable drive, that compulsion to create change rather to be a change that teaches us to genuinely care about people, about the community and the overall impact it has on the future.
Failures will happen; there is no denying the fact. Each of us will fail at something, and many of us will fail again and again and again. If you haven't failed at something till date, probably you haven't tried to become the best you can truly be, or you haven't even come close to realizing your full potential.
Remember, each defeat becomes an eventual victory. Let me leave some food for your thoughts by quoting –
“Ever Tried. Ever Failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail better” -Samuel Beckett.