You have to be willing to screw up.
Whether you are a virtual assistant or an executive, a business owner or entrepreneur, the fastest road to success is being willing to bounce over failures. Not “bounce” like . . . Forget about them . . . or discount them . . . or say three positive affirmations in the mirror to yourself to make yourself feel better about them.
No, not any of that. But rather, can you stand in the heat of knowing that failure is all part of the process of growth and expansion and success? Can you include it as part of the journey? Can you bounce back quickly and carry-on with your mission?
What finally had me put in my notice at corporate America after seven good foundational years at IBM (very grateful for those years in my late 20s and early 30s) was a paragraph in a book. The book was Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiosaki. In Chapter 16. Page 232. He said this:
“Whenever I meet people who are afraid to ’try’ something new, in most cases the reason lies in their fear of being disappointed. They are afraid they might make a mistake or get rejected. If you are prepared to embark on your journey to find your own financial fast track, I would like to offer you the same words of advice and encouragement my rich dad offered me when I was learning something new:
“Be prepared to be disappointed.”
“He meant this in a positive sense, not a negative sense. His reasoning was that if you’re prepared for disappointment, have a chance of turning a disappointment into an asset. Most people turn disappointment into a liability – a long-term one. And you know it’s long-term when you hear a person say, ‘I’ll never do that again.’ Or: ‘I should’ve known I would fail.’”
So once I got that disappointment was going to be part of the journey and I settled with myself that I could handle that, I ventured out to be an entrepreneur. And I’m still taking my licks to this day. Every issue, every problem, every breakdown, every failure is simply illuminating what needs to be re-worked, re-jiggered, tweaked, thrown out, reconsidered.
What I have accomplished is simply not getting as twisted up about it all. I don’t have to lament about it as long. I don’t make myself wrong, no flogging of myself. It’s simply part of the journey.
So stop beating yourself up and keep moving forward. Next time something like that problem arises again, you will be bigger, better, brighter and bolder in the face in it.
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” ~Michael Jordan
