So many people are afraid of failure and what others will think of them that they never really truly attempt their deepest desires. I am here to tell you that it is okay to set a goal and fail. Just think, Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he invented the light bulb. But he didn’t really think of it as failure, instead he said this, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Sometimes we just have to step out of our comfort zone and shoot for the stars. In 2014 I set a goal to make an extra $20,000 in my new consulting business. I started with zero revenue and by the end of the year I brought in gross revenues of $17,897. I FAILED to realize my goal. But I still MADE FORWARD MOVEMENT! I challenge you to stop worrying about what others will think if you miss your goal and don’t be paralyzed by fear. Be bold and risk FAILING FORWARD, but ALSO realize that if you don’t reach your goal on the first attempt THAT YOU GET TO TRY AGAIN.
Now I would like to share a newsletter I subscribe to on this very topic from Craig Ballantyne of EarlyToRise.com
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Last year, right around this time, I failed to reach
a major goal.
In fact, a year has gone by and to be frank, I STILL
haven’t made that much progress on it.
But I keep trying. I’m NOT giving up on this thing.
Let me tell you a little more about it…
After all, I know that fear of failure is one of the biggest
factors holding you back from website business success.
So many readers have told me this in Internet Independence,
ETR, and Financial Independence surveys you have filled out.
Common responses included…
“I have a fear of my product not being good enough even though
I know the content is solid. It’s all about fear. I have been
reading about this stuff for 5 years but I’m terrified.”
“How do I break through the fear of failure to get moving?”
“I need to overcome the fear and inertia of getting started.”
So much fear…and to be honest, I was surprised.
After all, WHAT are you scared of?
Failing?
Who cares, I do that all the time and then I tell my email
list of 90,000 people ALL about it.
Let me explain.
For weeks I had been telling my fitness readers about my
Turbulence Training Certification. I truly believed that I
could convince 50 personal trainers to join my mission of
helping 1 Million men and women transform their lives.
I put that out there in several emails, a 20 minute video,
my life’s vision, and several other pieces of content, all
sent to my 90,000-plus readers and 9,700 Facebook Fans.
Everyone knew my goal.
And I failed to reach it.
By the end of the week, I had only 25 trainers join me. I
missed my goal by 50%. Some would call that a failure.
And some folks in this world would even be happy to hear it.
So let the haters hate.
Let the Schadenfreude begin.
Let the doubters rejoice.
I don’t care.
It doesn’t matter what other people think and so I quickly
re-framed my failure to the reality that this was still a
fantastic result.
25 trainers have joined my mission. Ten years ago I would
never have imagined that other trainers would believe in me
like this. It’s amazing.
Now I’m twice as motivated and inspired to work harder on
my mission, and to help those 25 trainers who have put their
faith in me.
I haven’t failed.
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our
aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too
low, and achieving our mark.” – Michaelangelo
So you have two choices…
1) You can sit at home, paralyzed by the fear of failure,
worried that what…that someone, somewhere on the Internet,
someone that you’ll never ever meet, will laugh at you.
Scared that your obnoxious brother-in-law who already thinks
you’re a failure will now have “proof” that you are.
Whatever it is you fear, your first option is to let it kill
your hopes and dreams, do nothing, and never know what could
have been.
or…
2) You can give up your excuses, you can banish your fear of
failure, you can stop caring about what others think of you,
and you can take action on your dreams.
Listen, critics will always find something wrong with you.
There are “hate sites” devoted to Mother Theresa, for crying
out loud.
If people hate her, there’s going to be someone who hates you.
Get over it.
Lose the fear of failure.
Pardon me, I meant…
Lose your SELFISH fear of failure, because for every day that
you selfishly protect your ego behind the veil of inaction,
someone with REAL problems sits at home without your solution.
So they suffer…
…but at least no one thinks you’re a failure, right?
Yeah, right.
Let me give you a little dose of reality on that front, my
friend. Allow me to share with you a little of my trademarked
politically incorrect truth…
…plenty of people already think you’re a failure.
That’s human nature. Not everyone loves you.
I know. Shock! Horror!
But it doesn’t matter what those people think.
You need to GET OVER IT.
It’s time for you to give it up, to crush your fear of failure,
and change the world for the better.
Or forever remain unfulfilled.
Your choice.
You know what path I suggest.
Fail forward fast,
Craig Ballantyne
“The failure to act is much more often the product of inner,
emotional resistance than external resistance.” – Dan Kennedy
