Failure Is Not Fatal

The picture is of me speaking at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to over 14,000 people about why failure is not fatal.

Matter of fact the failures I experienced were critical to my growth and without them I wouldn’t possess the insights or impact that I do today.

So last week while I’m noticing the worlds biggest checkbook is looking pretty wobbly, (the U.S. Economy) I had to ask myself what the hell you or I can do about it?

The short answer?

1. Create more products and services of direct value
2. Learn how to effectively market those products and services
3. Then actually take action and sell those products and services

Period.

It’s one reason I came out with the Life Marketing Strategies eBook and software because I’ve come across so many people who want to get their products & services out to the public more effectively.

But why won’t more people take a shot at self employment when the jobless rate is so high right now?

In many cases they’re just too afraid of failing or losing what little they do have. The general consensus is that being self employed or being an entrepreneur is risky. And I totally get it but there is an answer and I’ll share it in just a second.

If you’re already self employed or working at it, getting over the stumbling block of failure can be tricky. It can keep you from taking the necessary and appropriate risks required to obtain your outcomes.

You can watch the 21 minute video below of Seth Godin about how we need to have the willingness to fail appropriately.

[Video] Taking Risks In Business

When done strategically, failure is not fatal. You won’t risk your home, your savings or your well being.

Safeguard Your Job Until…

If you currently have a job and it’s simply task oriented, realize you can eventually be replaced with cheaper labor, (i.e. outsourced). It’s happened quite a bit already.

So how can you safeguard yourself and make yourself more valuable until you replace it with a self employed or entrepreneurial position? By becoming a problem solver.  Or better yet, ask yourself how can you move into one of the first two areas by applying the concept of being a problem solver?

[Example] I just recently talked to someone who has a natural mental talent and ability around organizing. That’s a problem solving skill and is in great demand when matched up to someone who’s life is in complete disarray where disorganization is costing them revenue. She can move herself into the “self employed” arena and charge higher prices because it’s something she’s highly skilled at, enjoys doing and is extremely effective at.

The challenge is many people undervalue their natural mental talents because it comes as so easy to them. When you learn how to effectively market your products & services your chances of succeeding go up tremendously.

Failure Is Not Fatal 

The kind of failure that’s required in order to start a home based business these days (or take the one you have to the next level) isn’t fatal at all. The only reason you may think it is, is because you’re concerned about someone saying “you failed“. That may represent to you that you aren’t accepted. In our minds that seems fatal but of course, it really isn’t. I still acknowledge it’s scary and it sucks.

Because you’re possibly self employed doesn’t mean you’re a lone ranger. Just the opposite actually. You just align yourself with a new crowd. I do the same thing with mastermind groups, expos and live events.

How to Embrace Failure 

[Note] One of the six pillars of self esteem is the The Practice of Self Assertiveness – This is about being willing to live out your values in reality. To treat ourselves with respect for our beliefs, our convictions and our own persons.

If you don’t feel as if you stand for anything right now, then perhaps these are area’s you will want to begin evaluating so that you’re more driven to live out your values and meaningfully express them through your work:

• Have you identified your hierarchy of values?
• Have you identified your top 3?
• What would you need to believe in order to apply them to a business or your work?
• Are they already aligned with your current job or business?
• If not how can you align your highest values to your work?
• Can you see yourself doing this kind of work?

When you’re aligned with your natural mental talents and values your chances of enjoying being self employed and having more success at it goes up exponentially.

The challenge I noticed with many people is they align themselves with home businesses that are promising them lots of money. The means does not always leave you feeling fulfilled and that’s when doubt can creep into your mind and you begin questioning yourself and your abilities.

Pick a game (a business environment) you can win in. Fix what’s going on outside (the environment) instead of trying to fix you. Rely more on what you’re good at than trying to fix what you’re not good at.

You’re not broken or disadvantaged. You just want to rely on your natural talents.

Appropriate Risks

Appropriate risks keep you in the game even if you do have a failure. That means not betting the farm, such as all of your savings, on something you’re not sure will work out or not. Or just up and quitting a job without any kind of plan or measurable success. By taking appropriate risks you start something part time, you learn marketing, and you replace your current income over time without risking what stability you do have or your family’s security.

These days the actual investment of capital required to start an online business or network marketing business is ridiculously low. But keep in mind that the learning curve can and will be steep if you’re attempting to start without any prior experience.

This is what drives me crazy, the easy, push button, no learning curve kind of messages that the public is bombed with daily. It’s alot of bullshit. Failure is not fatal but if you buy into these claims it certainly can give you a false sense of security and that’s when problems sneak up on you.

A Key Ingredient to Success

[Note] It’s key to have acknowledged your values, your natural mental talents and what is truly important to you before you align yourself with any kind of online or network marketing business. Positioning yourself with one just to make money won’t be a fulfilling long term strategy.

I’m pretty sure this is why so many people permanently fail in a network marketing business or even as real estate agents for that matter. The means doesn’t match their values or natural talents. They place themselves in a game they can’t win and then beat themselves up because they don’t have the skills to pull it off.

Network marketing can provide you a platform and the right company has some of the best personal development training out there for someone who has zero experience in being self employed. Just remember that the network marketing platform is never really yours in the end. It will always belong to the company and at any time something can occur where you no longer retain that source of income.

After a full decade with one network marketing company I feel I have some insight as to why so many people don’t get the results they are looking for. They didn’t fail, they just stopped and in many cases they stopped because they the means didn’t align with what they were naturally good at.

In Closing

Let me just say that not everyone is at a place in their lives where they can be or even want to be self employed or an entrepreneur. However I do believe that anyone with a desire and a dream can be and can be damn good at it.

So Let’s recap and add:

• Failure is not fatal when you rely your natural mental talents and values
• Failure is not fatal when you’re working on your business part time to start out (You can afford some setbacks)
• Failure is not fatal because the failure isn’t a representation of who you are and has nothing to do with your self esteem
• Failure is not fatal because without some sort of failure you don’t reinforce the lesson with any emotion
• Failure is not fatal because if you’re not making mistakes and failing you’re probably not stretching yourself towards a large enough or worthwhile endeavor
• Failure is not fatal when you learn from your mistakes.

I actually put together a self awareness starter pack made up of 2 ebooks for people who are either extremely interested in becoming self employed or are already self employed and want to improve their performance. Just provide your email below, confirm your email and I’ll send them both to you.

What would you add about failure not being fatal? Leave your comments below.

As long as you position yourself appropriately Failure is not fatal.