In this post, we are going to address the nerves that can get in the way of success and one way of reframing the spector of failing.

Some may say that we are really afraid of success, and there may be some truth to that. In essence, if we are going to be wildly successful, will we be able to keep up? Will we know what to do with the success? But I would bet that we just have a fear of failing. It is DRILLED into us to think that we will somehow fail if we build a business. I will tell you about one of the things that helped me to get over that worry.

Over a decade ago, I went to different training courses through Peak Potentials out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Their goal was to help you be successful in your business and professional life. They had physical challenges in outward-bound type personal development programs, but they also did these conferences where they would bring in all kinds of successful thinkers, business people, and trainers.

In one of these conferences, they conducted a panel of five successful individuals who had great success in building businesses. Now, as I sat there, they probably said a lot of good things, many things that were likely inspiring for a lot of people in the audience. But, do you want to guess what captured me the most?

Every single of the individuals indicated they had failed along the way. Not only failed, but failed BIG.

THINK about that. Every single one of them had failed, and sometimes spectacularly. But what did they say about the failure? Every one of them was currently successful, making millions of dollars every year.

So, first, they did not let failure stop them. Second, they used the failure to learn.

I believe it is the second part that separates them from most entrepreneurs. You know, one thing that the failure statistics in business do not tell us is of those failures, which of them came back and started a second business? What is their success rate?

Some of you may follow Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki. His first business failed because he did not get a patent on the design of one of his products. Because of that, he eventually had huge competitors come into the field and steal market share away from him. He has stated that he learned his lesson. And that is the name of the game, right? If we choose to learn from failures, then the next success could be even greater. Thus, when he later wrote the book and built a financial investing game, he got the patent. He had learned his lesson and was wildly successful with this new business.

That is what every entrepreneur on that stage told me. Use failure to learn and you will never make that mistake again. You might make some other mistake, but you will learn from that one too.

So, think about your own life. When have you made mistakes? Did it lead to an even greater success sometime later down the road? Or did you hide your head in the sand and conclude that you will not try again?