Being an entrepreneur is one of the greatest — and most challenging — of life’s experiences. Long days, personal sacrifices, little money (at least in the beginning), and always so much more to do than time allows can make even the most stalwart of business owners long for relief. Anything from a weekend get-away with loved ones to a few kind words of encouragement can be enough to recharge the entrepreneur’s batteries and push her to the next level of achievement.
While these sorts of breaks have their place (entrepreneurs are human, after all), truthfully, the sweetest words an entrepreneur could ever hear as she moves forward with her dream are not “Great job!” or “I’ve booked us a room at the Grand Wailea for the next 5 days!”
No, the sweetest words an entrepreneur could ever hear are these:
“Congratulations! You just failed.”
Huh???
You read that correctly. Unlike what we are taught in school, failing for entrepreneurs is a good thing. A reward in and of itself. We want to see the teacher after class!
Indeed, failing for entrepreneurs is like candy to 5-year olds — we just cannot get enough. Why? Because contrary to rational thinking, failing is a sign that an entrepreneur is making progress.
You see, you can’t fail if you aren’t doing anything. And entrepreneurs — last time I checked, anyway — are MASTERS of taking action. Of getting up every day and embracing the opportunity to act, regardless of the outcome.
Failing is a badge of honor in entrepreneurial circles. Failing proves you have been out there, getting your hands dirty, moving ahead, working.
And while victory is definitely desired (entrepreneurs LOVE to win!), the reality is, we entrepreneurs know in our bones that victory is a given if we never, ever, ever give up — and if we accept failing for what it is — one step closer to winning. We know that along the road to victory, we will fail more times than we won’t.
And it’s okay!
When have you failed along your journey as an entrepreneur? How did those failures shape your successes? Feel free to share your stories here and with others on Facebook and Twitter if you are so inclined! Failing is nothing to be ashamed of…the greatest success is always built on failure!
See Me after Class! 🙂
Great article Mary Lou,
Failure is definitely one of life’s greatest teachers!
J
The Cartoon Coach
I think your post is wonderful. As entrepreneurs we literally fail forward. If I looked at my failures in marketing as a bad thing, I would have gone back to a JOB a long time ago. I think I like failing forward a whole lot more than I like working for a steady paycheck from a JOB.
Great post,
Scott
This is exactly right! Failure much teach us, or surely success will not reward us! Becoming a student of failure is essential ~ both watching other people’s failures to learn what NOT to do, and of course, learning from our own mistakes. We have a choice, as always ~ let our failures be our servants or let them be our slaves!
Thanks for sharing these insights, Mary Lou!
Thank you for your comments, Beth! I like your point about becoming a student of failure. Contrary to what is taught in school, but one of the most important subjects we could ever learn!
Hi Scott, Yes indeed…failing forward is the only way to move forward! All successes rest on mistakes, and failing at some point. So glad you shared your thoughts here! 🙂
Hi J, As an artist, you understand this failure stuff all too well…and I imagine your greatest accomplishments have been built on the back of failure more than once! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Mary Lou,
I wasn’t sure where you were going with this at first. You had MY attention for sure! You are so right about failures. Without stepping outside our comfort zone, trying something new, we will never get anywhere. Sitting around waiting for it to look perfect is like waiting for the ocean to freeze over! Moving forward and learning from your experiences is key to the journey of success.
Great post!
Val 😉
Great info Mary Lou. I learned from a lady named Ann Sieg. Teaching sells and in this business you have to read, read, read and make mistakes along the way. There’s no other way to create a successful business.
Heck, if you took a look at my blog 2 days ago you would have found no posts. I lost them all and they were not in the recycle bin. Took 13 hours for the technicians to get them back and I still have to do the nave bar right because of it. I learned that not everything is your fault and to relax because you cant keep bad things from happening.
You can write articles about your experiences and teach others. That’s what makes us different…we become experts in what we choose. It’s not about making money, it’s what you become in the process. A determined professional that teaches others how to fulfill their dreams and desires in life.
Mary Lou,
What a fantastic post! Seriously, I cannot wait until I fail yet again to know that I’m actually doing something right for myself or my business. You did a great job explaining why this is a powerful concept to grasp & I really enjoyed reading – can’t wait to share this idea with others I work with! 😉 Christine
Mary Lou,
This is sooo true!
Here’s a quote by Woody Allen, “If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”
We must learn to thrive on failure to reap the rewards of success.
Great stuff!
– Yo
Super Mary Lou. I’ve said it before somewhere what my mentors Paul Martinelli and Les Brown tell me all the time. “Nelson your road to Success is paved with the stepping stones of your Failures” Thanks for a super post.
Hello Mary Lou
I love your blog. At first I was expecting something exciting, positive and profound. When I read at first Failure, my body went “What” but as I read it is very true. We truly do learn a lot from our failures at least we should be. Sometimes it takes me a few to get it and I always keep moving and working on that. Thank you for that great reminder. Hope your having an amazing Tuesday.
Mary Lou,
What a wonderful reframe. It is oh so easy to feel frustrated and discouraged when something I have been attempting to accomplish just does not work out right. Failure is actually part of the process. It is impossible to succeed without trying first and failing any number of times. But it is wonderful to actually say, “Congratulations! when you fail. I remember a sales training that said, “Every no you get is that much closer to a yes.” Similar idea.
Hi Mary Lou,
This awesome post of yours reminded me recently of hearing Darren Hardy speak recently. He recounted a story of when he was younger and making cold calls door-to-door, that his goal was to fail as quickly as possible and to embrace the failure because success was just on the other side. You both have shown us all an amazingly counterintuitive way to view failure. Thanks for sharing.
I love this one Mary Lou.
If we all really embraced this we would have no fear to GO FOR IT always.
My worst day as an entrepreneur far super-cedes my worst day as an employee!
Fail Forward! Best, Lisa
Lisa Molina’s latest blog…Information Age or MIS Information Age – the Internet
You made my day with this post. I’ve been sitting here wondering what to do next.. and you gave permission to fail or feel like you did and it’s okay! So thank you for that! 🙂
Mary Lou,
I have to admit that I have never really looked at Failure as the greatest thing I could hear. You definitely put a new twist on my thinking. I knew that if I knocked on enough doors that one would open and that if after so many NO’s there would be a YES. But Failure, never look at it!
Thanks for such a great post.
Bill
Failing forward does mean you are not a quitter and hopefully learning valuable lessons. Great post Mary Lou. Thanks!
WOW! What an intriguing post. Here’s my confession for the day… I continue to fail on a regular basis…however, when I get it right…it’s soooo right!!
~Clint
Wow! I really love the way you celebrated entrepreneurs here. You have taken many of the lessons I have heard people refer to and put them together so nicely. I never saw how entrepreneurs looked at failure in this light quite like this.
Mary Lou,
You speak true words of wisdom. Thomas Edison failed 1000’s of times before he finally got the light bulb right. the President of our company has always said that the only difference between you and the top income earner in the company is that they’ve heard more No’s than you, fallen down more than you and failed more than you.
Hmm, I guess screwing up really can move you forward. Thanks for you post.
Hi Don, Yes, screwing up seems to be the better way to go if you want to be successful! For whatever reason, we humans seem to learn better from mistakes rather than doing things right the first time!
Hi Rebecca, Glad my post gave you a new way of seeing failure. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! 🙂
Keep on failing forward, Clint! That’s exactly what you should be doing! 🙂
Thanks Beverly! 🙂
HI Bill, It’s difficult to embrace failure because from such a young age, we are all taught that failure is bad. But as you pointed out, if we don’t hear any No’s, then we won’t hear any Yesses, either! Failing HAS to be a part of our development, or else we will never grow. Thanks for sharing your comments!
Glad I could help out, Lesly! 🙂
I agree with you 100%, Lisa: my worst day as an entrepreneur far super-cedes my worst day as an employee! Failing forward is the ONLY way to win! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me 🙂
Our counter-intuitiveness can sometimes be our best guide as we move through life. I appreciate your comments, Debbie! 🙂
Jeff Olson says it best in his book, The Slight Edge: “It’s easy to do, it’s easy not to do.” If we take the easy way out, we will never know the sweet taste of victory, only the common steady hum of being average. I think all of us who are out there blogging and working for our dreams agree that average is nothing to aspire to! Thanks for sharing your comments.
Thank you, Julie, for your thoughtful comments! I appreciate that you took some time to read my post and leave a comment. Keep on doing what you are doing, even if failure rears its head. If it does, you know you are on the right track! 🙂
🙂 You’re the best, Nelson!
Love that quote from Woody Allen, Yo! Thriving on failure is such a powerful concept, and one that is sooooooo hard for most people to embrace. Those of us who do, however, know how powerful the other side of failure is! 🙂
Thank you, Christine, for your positive energy and response! I can always tell from how someone writes what level of passion they have for what they are doing and you are clearly a woman who is moving forward passionately, one failure at a time! 🙂
Hi Rick, Your comments are wonderful and so generous! It sounds like you are learning from some fabulous teachers. I am sorry to hear about your blog fiasco, but it sounds like things turned out okay? I love your spirit of wanting to help others become better at what they do. Your passion for teaching from your heart will touch so many lives…thank you for sharing your comments with me! 🙂
Hi Val, I am glad I twisted things up for you and kept your attention. I love your analogy about waiting for the ocean to freeze over…it just will never happen and those who think it will miss out on so many fabulous opportunities life offers! As always, I appreciate your thoughtful comments on my blog. 🙂
Good stuff, Mary Lou.
We all want success, but EVERY successful person will tell you that it was the thousands of failures that led to his or her ultimate success.
The important thing is to LEARN from the failure and to NOT EVEN THINK about quitting… ever!
Hi David, As Winston Churchill once said, “I will never, never, never, never, never give up!” That is definitely every successful person’s mantra!