I’d say the biggest barrier that holds people back from shining as brightly and brilliantly as they could is the fear of failure. “What if I mess up? What if I make a fool of myself? What if it doesn’t work? How embarrassing!” Fear of failure often masquerades as “Perfectionism.”
Every now and then, my father and I have these deep philosophical discussions. During one of these, he helped me realize something about myself. I do NOT believe in failure! When I look back over my 22 years in business (which I’m celebrating this month), I see no failures. None. Sure, I’ve tried things that didn’t “work” the way I’d hoped. But even the ideas that didn’t strike it big and even the “less-than-perfect choices” were valuable learning experiences.
This is how I see it… you try something, it doesn’t work the way you wanted it to, so you tweak and adjust until you find the combination that clicks. Life is one big laboratory of learning. And owning your own business is one of the richest laboratories of all. Feedback on whether you’ve found the right combination reflects swiftly in your bottom line. Because profits are such a tangible thermometer, you have a lot more incentive to tweak until you get it right.
Yet, there’s one other ingredient you need for this philosophy to work — Determination! I never, ever quit. In my vocabulary, QUIT is a four-letter word. I might realize an idea, method or system isn’t going to work, and lay it aside. But giving up on my business is not an option!
There are no failures, only experiments. These experiments all have a purpose:
- They may teach you what doesn’t work. So you can tweak and adjust.
- They often give you new understanding, knowledge or skills.
- During the experiment, you may pick up a new friend, colleague or mentor.
- Experiments build on each other. You start to see patterns for what works, what doesn’t.
- Some experiments give you more compassion and empathy for others.
- In the end, they give a richness and depth to your character.
Combine determination with adaptability, and the laboratory of business is a grand adventure!
About Marnie Pehrson Kuhns
Marnie Pehrson Kuhns is a Certified SimplyAlign Practitioner™ who uses music and creativity to mentor you past barriers, fears and doubts to discover, create, align with, and deliver your soul’s song (the mission, message or purpose you are on this earth to live). Marnie is a best-selling author with 31 fiction and nonfiction titles. If you'd like Marnie and her husband Dave to work with you personally on Your Great Reinvention, get a FREE 20-minute strategy session with Marnie here.
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