Monday
06Jul2009
How Successful Entrepreneurs Use Failure As Leverage For Future Success
Monday, July 6, 2009 at 12:10PM Enduring failure after failure before you become successful is standard fare for most entrepreneurs. We are taught at a young age in school that failure is something horrible to be avoided at all costs. Our teachers buy into this and our parents reinforce it. How do you think this programming affects your ability to succeed as an entrepreneur?
Whether you are a young entrepreneur or simply new to entrepreneurship, you must examine your beliefs closely for clues about beliefs that may be holding you back; because, beliefs like the one about failure will subtly and systematically sabotage your success. Failure is a natural component of the entrepreneurial journey and one that needs to be embraced rather than feared.
Failure is not permanent. It is an opportunity to learn something that you did not know before. Napoleon Hill, in his landmark book called Think and Grow Rich, said that, "Within every failure is the seed of an equal or even greater opportunity." This philosophy, when adopted as a permanent mindset, is so powerful, so proactive that it will make you, the entrepreneur, virtually unstoppable on your quest to achieve your dreams.
What is your response when you fail? Is it to curl up and cry? Or, is to accept the failure, view it with a detached interest, and discover the lessons in it? Did the failure hurt you? Or, did it make you smarter, stronger, more capable than before? Analyze each failure as nothing more than an outcome, just like success is an outcome. Furthermore, it is important not to internalize or allow yourself to take "ownership" of your failures. Know that you are not your mistakes.
There is a zen philosophy that I repeat to myself frequently when I feel that I may be in danger of internalizing my failures. It is: I am open to everything, but attached to nothing. If you take your failures personally, like each one is a challenge to your confidence in your ability to succeed, then you are doomed because you will become weaker in spirit with each failure. Realize that failure is here to make you stronger, not weaker. That it is a tool to be leveraged, not a result to be upset or depressed about.
Certainly emotions will come into the equation; however, you must engage your emotions and set limitations on them. A technique I learned recently is when you experience a failure or make a mistake that is emotionally charged, "allow" yourself a certain amount of time to be upset or angry about the situation. Not upset or angry with yourself, but about the situation. Give yourself as much time as you need to experience the emotions that result from the failure. But, after that time limit is expired, you are back to being the entrepreneur that is proactive and self confident ready to try again and as many times as necessary to get the result you are after.
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