Failure is Beautiful

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Updated 6 years ago

Folks, let me make you aware of an inconvenient reality: there is a major self-delusion circulating among “wantrepreneurs”.

Simply stated, there are way too many “wantrepreneurs” embarking on this journey who honestly believe they can reap the rewards of running their own businesses without ever enduring days:

where technology will fail them
where their websites will crash
where they will be attacked by hackers planting stealthy viruses
where their budgets won’t overrun
where they will infuriate some of their customers

So first PLEASE get off this delusional gravy train, get your mind out of the clouds and keep both of your feet planted firmly on the ground.

Also if you are not familiar with the term "wantrepreneur" read my post Don't Be a Wantreprenur

All of the above will certainly happen and more. But most of all, understand this.

Failure is Beautiful

Now you know I don’t mean this in the strictest literal sense, or do you? You may be asking yourself, “Has Kaju gone insane?” Why is failure beautiful?”

For every entrepreneur, there has only been ONE formula to success.

To fail their way to success.

Intentionally. Embrace failure

The truth of the matter is you WILL fail in ABUNDANCE before you ever come out on top. Before you achieve your greatest successes. This is inevitable. The sooner you accept this, the easier it’s going to be to bounce back from your failures.

ALL successful entrepreneurs actually fail their way to success.

What Are Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs?

What are the traits of successful entrepreneurs? They acknowledge from the beginning there’s but one thing that is guaranteed: there is no such thing as a mistake-free, risk-free, pain-free business.

I can relate this to my own experience with my own interior design and building company.

According to plan, we thought this would be a smooth sailing project. Serenity Spa was scheduled to open its doors for business in NYC on August 16. However by late July we ran into several unforeseen challenges.

I remember it as clear as day.

Things were not going well, we were now running far behind on the timeline. Building material delays and work held up by outside sub-contractors which the client hired were further delaying the finishing of this project. Also, an integral part of a credenza unit that was a focal point of the retail area arrived from Italy damaged.

The client was getting very testy with me with each passing day so as the principle designer-entrepreneur of my own business I had to be creative and think fast.

First was finding an adequate local replacement for the damaged part of the credenza and obtaining the final building materials on delay.

Check.

Next was to bring in my own specialty finishers to replace the outside contractors hired by the client (and to convince the client to replace them) who were dragging the project.

Done.

In the end, we had pull 3 consecutive all-nighters to finish the final design and build out of Serenity Spa in NYC to meet our deadline in mid-August.

Yes, by the skin of our teeth we made it happen and opened the spa for business by 8:00 am on August 16.

And although our eyes were severely blood-shot from lack of sleep, we were paid in full by a very happy client.

Once again, by failing our way to success.

We Never Gave Up

These were highly stressful and demanding situations that required quick decision-making and action. By mid-July, unforeseen circumstances were causing failures all around us. The house of cards was falling down.

But did we give up? Not a chance.

We stayed calm and focused, and in the end met our deadline despite the many small failures.

The truth is no matter how carefully you map things out – and no matter how many contingencies you plan for - once you get your business off the ground, Murphy’s Law will prevail. And whatever can go wrong WILL go wrong.

Smaller intermittent failures are imminent. It’s guaranteed. And while this can be highly stressful and a pain in the butt, it’s a 100% normal part of the process.

The real growth comes from what you do AFTER you fail.

Remember. Intentionally. Embrace failure

Try This Thought Experiment

Never give up at the first signs of trouble. Or even the 20th sign of trouble. You will surely experience many failures, situations will go awry beyond your control, and you will fall hard.

So here’s a thought experiment I would like you to try today.

Forget about trying to have the “perfect day” in your business. Think outside the box and try something out of the ordinary today.

Say to yourself, “What insane unanticipated event is going to happen to me today that’s going to transform my business for the better?”