Failure = Success

You read that right: Failure = Success.

You might think this journey in life is all about your wins, and they certainly do make up a portion of perceived success, but your losses and subsequent ability to tolerate failure will create larger gains than your wins.

I was recently on a call with my mentor and she asked me, what do you think separates those who succeed in their business, from those who don’t. I landed on this concept of Emotional Fortitude… Now, I’m not crazy about the name of it, but hear me out. Emotional Fortitude, doesn’t mean going all robotic and not processing your emotions (I’ve tried this strategy as well… it didn't work), but more so allowing your emotions to exist, process the lesson, and get back up for the next battle tomorrow (or later that day). Essentially, the old phrase: “Get back up on that horse”. 

Your business journey is going to be filled with ups and downs. It’s going to be filled with things that go your way and things that don’t. It’s going to be filled with periods of self-doubt and times of emotional highs. So if you want to stay in the game, you need to develop that fortitude. 

I’ve been fully on my own for about a year now in the business journey, betting on nobody but myself. It’s been HARD, but, immensely gratifying. I’ve experienced all of the things I’ve mentioned in this writing so far, but here I am continuing to play the game of business because I know the alternative just isn’t for me at this time.

I want to share with you how I get myself out of a funk when I’ve hit a point of failure: 

• First, I let myself be frustrated about it. It sucks, I know, but it happened.
• Then, once my head is clear, I go back and audit what would have changed the outcome. Maybe my order of operations, my approach, my patience, or some other factor. 
• Discuss with my coach, mentor, or someone who I know can consult me on the matter.
• Digest the lesson. What did I learn from the experience? Many of my current systems and processes I am using in my business today are from lessons learned from failure. 
• Implement the lesson in the future. 
• Repeat. 

If you’re struggling with the ups and downs of the solopreneur journey, you’re not alone. Many of us share the same problems, but your actions and responses are what will change your future experience. I know it can be disheartening when things don’t go as expected. I want you to remember that it’s part of the game.  

As Simon Sinek says about the infinite game, the goal is to keep playing.