Let's Talk About My Favorite F Word: Failure!

I was just looking back at some of my past blogs — it's Thursday and I needed a little throwback inspiration! —  and failure and fear of failure seem to be something I talk about A LOT. I'm fun that way. I found blogs about how to rebound from a failure and how failure and success totally go together. And then when I searched the word ‘failure,’ holy cannoli!!, a whole bunch of blogs popped up in the results. Failure may not have been the topic du jour, but I must've mentioned the word at least. So yeah, I like to talk about failure. Like I said, I'm fun that way.

OK, I don't actually like failure, as in like like, enjoy it, but I do like to talk about it. I get that it's an inevitable part of being in business. You almost can't be successful without experiencing some kind of failure. Woo hoo, lucky us! So why do so many of us have a gigantic fear of failure? Like we'd prefer to do our taxes and our friends' taxes (twice!) rather than fail at something. What's so awful about failing?

Fear Of Failure Can Make You A Nonstarter! So Stop That!

There are so many answers to that question! One is that we don't like to lose. Losing ain't fun. In fact, it sucks! And there's usually some kind of embarrassment involved. Again, not fun. There's no glory in it. Plus, everyone knows you're waaay less likely to have a movie made about you when you lose, so there's that. Unless you're the Jamaican bobsled team, but besides them, I can't think of anyone. (Maybe you'll have more luck Googling that than me.)

And why is that? Because people don't like to sit on the edge of their seat, heart racing, palms sweating, nervously eating an entire tub of popcorn only to watch the hero miss the touchdown/ not make the basket/ cross the finish line fourth/ lose the big money deal/ not outwit the crazy wild bear that's stalking them. Seriously, none of those sound like good movie endings to me (especially the one with the bear). And I'd feel like I was tricked into eating all that popcorn.

So, I think we can all agree that no one likes losing or paying good money to watch other people lose. What else about failing and our fear of failure do we need to talk about? Obviously, there's the “If you don't try, you'll never succeed” truism. While that's so ridiculously obvious, I think this is the thing that holds a lot of us back. We're afraid to fail, lose money, feel like a loser, look foolish, not know how to recover from a setback... so we refrain from trying at all. And there we are, stuck in the same place — a nonstarter. What we need to do is get over ourselves, overcome that fear of failure, and just try! Dammit!

Best Way To Get Over Your Fear Of Failure? Have A Plan & Deal With It!

In my TBT browsing, one of the other blogs I came across is from 2013. I gave my top 5 tips for how to handle failure. If you take a peek, you can also see a video of my slightly younger self talking about that on a Fox Business segment. My hair's a little shorter, I'm not sure where the red sweater went, still love that necklace... and everything I'm saying still holds true. Knowing how to respond to failure — having a plan for it — can make it less scary. And therefore, you might be more likely to make a start and take a risk. Here's a brief recap of my 5 tips.

1. Acknowledge the failure.
2. Face it head on.
3. Glean the message.
4. Ask for help.
5. Help others.

For a little more detail — like what the hell does No. 3 mean? — check out that blog... and 2013 me on TV!

Oh by the way, are you searching for easy steps to charge more without losing clients? Learn where you're leaving money on the table and discover simple costs to cut PLUS get productivity tips! And the best part is it's all FREE! Get our Simple Tricks right here!

Be Oh So Quotable This Week!

I always say running a business means the work never ends! Ain't that the truth? I bet your to-do list is a mile long! Make sure that the items at the top of your list are the things that relate to being more profitable. Everyone is so proud of being so "busy"...But Are You Making Any Money? Don't be too busy to focus!

Check out the summary of last week's business tips and motivational quotes from my Instagram page which you hopefully got to see in real time! If not, let's make sure we're following each other on Instagram!! So...here is this week's roundup of Instagram images of My Top Business Tips and Motivational Quotes.

Fear Of Failure – Tip #1:

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"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston Churchill

Fear Of Failure – Tip #2:

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"The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried." – Stephen McCranie

Fear Of Failure – Tip #3:

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"It doesn't matter how many times you have failed, you only have to be right once." – Mark Cuban

Fear Of Failure – Tip #4:

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"Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again." – Richard Branson

Fear Of Failure – Tip #5:

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"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." – Beverly Sills

Let's talk! I'd love to hear if you have a fear of failure!

Is your fear of failure holding you back? Have you managed to overcome this fear? Did you find other movies made about people who lose? Have you ever seen Cool Runnings? I would LOVE to hear from you! Anyhoo...I publish these business tips and motivational quotes to get you fired up for your work week!

Oh hey, are you in desperate need of simple and easy steps to attract clients you love, create a pricing strategy and ditch the door knockers? Then you've come to the right place! Get it here for FREE!

And, if you want more business tips, get my book, But Are You Making Any Money? or contact me to really take your business to the next level!

xoxo M

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