Like the wee leprechauns of Irish lore, we, as small business owners, seem to be constantly searching for that “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow.
But, no matter how hard we search, it frequently remains elusive. The best of us are constantly trying something new — adding a new niche, taking a chance on new products, or creating a website or facebook page. Sometimes we succeed. Other times we fail. And, unfortunately, for many of you, failure makes you stop trying to follow that rainbow. Makes you become stagnant, resting comfortably with the familiar surrounding us without realizing that too can lead to failure.
I’m not any different than the rest of you. I hate failure. However, I’ve discovered that it’s a natural part of life, unavoidable if you have any interest in living a full life and operating a successful business.
Failure is even a factor for success because it means that you are not sitting idle. You are doing something. Failures can provide direction for what you should be doing.
Consider the many successes that were preceeded by failure. Michael Jordan tells us that “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. I’ve failed over and over and over again. That is why I succeed.” Sony started making electric rice cookers and ended up as a major player in the technology field.
I think Thomas Edison said it best, “I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
If you embrace failure and learn from it as you continue following the rainbow, you can be on your way to finding that pot of gold. But if you let it knock you down and become a permanent guest in your life, you’ll never find it.
The next time you fail at something, pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and learn from it. Then DO SOMETHING to continue down that rainbow path.