“Don’t be afraid to fail,” your high school friend posted on Instagram.
A confident lion, slightly blurred, roars in the background. The font is clear and crisp. You double tap, happy to feed the algorithm.
Is this the secret to entrepreneurship?
Don't be afraid to fail?
Partially, yeah.
If you're not scared to fail, you will move in a relaxed, carefree fashion.
If you are afraid to fail, you will move like a robot. Boxy and boring motion as you try to find "the right way."
Why?
Because when you are afraid to fail, your focus points towards yourself.
"Could I ever deal with the embarrassment and shame of my Shopify t-shirt store grossing $0 in annual revenue?"
This thought pattern is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"Can **I** deal with failure?"
Forget about yourself!! Think about how happy your customers will be when they get a dope t-shirt in the mail!
When you forget about yourself, you finally start to get creative. The focus turns away from your self-image, and towards the t-shirts!
*starts to daydream* Thinks of idea! How did I think of that? Where did it come from??
Not you! You forgot about yourself, and it appeared.
But getting back to the original idea. Are people afraid to fail?
Yes, they are.
But don't underestimate the flip side—are people afraid to succeed?
Because, yes, we are all terrified to succeed.
Failure means that life returns to normal (with a small ego bruise).
Success means you have 50,000 customers who count on you. And it's polarizing.
You will have more money, more impact, more power. More people love you, more people hate you. Do you trust yourself with that? Deep down, can you handle it? Do you even want to?
You do not know the answer to this question. But your subconscious mind does!
And it will always hold you back, unless you are truly ready to step into this new responsibility.
How to step into the new power?
"When the student is ready, the teacher appears."
Quote I'm Pondering
"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to be happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
– Charles Kingsley
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