You’re a failure.
We all have been at some point in our lives.
It can be devastating, especially if you’ve poured so many resources into an important goal that came up short.
The question is, what’s your mindset around failure?
Does it stop you from moving forward? Or does it give you an extra push to keep on moving?
For Ron Miller, it’s the latter.
He has founded, built and sold 5 successful companies as an Ernst & Young, Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist and has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list 4 times.
He’s learned the most important factor in achieving tremendous success is failing fast and learning from it to become stronger.
As mentioned in this Kevin Daum INC.com article, when the failure process is accelerated, investors can preserve time and resources on companies that won't likely succeed. The bad companies dissolve faster, and the winners prove themselves quicker.
So, failing fast is good.
Miller's new venture StartEngine focuses on rapid failure for start-ups.
If you’re curious about how he turns his defeats into success, here are 6 suggestions:
1. Approach failure with the right mindset
Many people think failure is just plain wrong.
Often managers and entrepreneurs are paralyzed by fear of failure. Failure is so scary in incremental and significant contexts - they refuse to act and innovate. Miller believes you should let go of fear and embrace failure. He notes, "At the end of the day, innovation and action create success instead of blocking ourselves from taking risks."
2. Own the Failure
Ownership of failure should be celebrated by managers and entrepreneurs alike.
When you acknowledge failure, you acknowledge the need for innovation, initiative and action. There is always a new idea to take away from failure. One has to be open to looking for the benefit. "Owning failure is a critical step to identifying course corrections and pivots that are necessary to get a successful result ultimately," says Miller.
3. Stay Clear on Your End Result
Failure is hugely discouraging, but if you harp on how bad it makes you feel, you will likely lose sight of the reason you failed in the first place - to achieve something you care deeply about. Miller explains, "If you are focused on the small failures and successes, you may miss out on how those failures or successes affect the big picture."
4. Get Feedback From Your Team
Oftentimes people who fail cannot maintain an objective perspective on why things went off the rails. They are too emotionally attached to what happened.
Listening to others can help put things into perspective. Miller says, "The feedback of others can identify more than just whether the initiative is successful. It can also identify the causation of failures.”
5. Use Data to Find the Roots of Failure
Miller believes using metrics is not only essential for determining success but also for identifying where the failure lies. He explains, "Within each major high-level metric, there may be sub-metrics that must be measured to identify where in the chain of events lie the success and favours. By creating a consistent measurement system, leaders can readily identify what is successful and off-track to allow for course correction."
6. Keep on Trying
Thomas Edison once stated, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Miller believes you should feel good about taking risks and daring to innovate, even if it leads to some degree of failure. Not everyone succeeds, but if you keep at it and learn, you will eventually succeed.
You see, failure is necessary for success.
Don’t shy away from it.
Its teachings will serve you and your bookkeeping business for years to come.
I know it’s uncomfortable, but wouldn’t you rather be uneasy and make more money or just stay comfortable or even worse and not live the life you truly want?
As always, the choice is yours.
To your success,
Michael
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