Why You Must Embrace Failure to Succeed in Business Keep moving forward, even if you're stumbling.
By Jonathan Long •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Every successful entrepreneur has experienced failure. Failures of all sizes provide a valuable benefit -- they help to develop an entrepreneurial mindset that allows us to keep pushing forward. It's the equivalent of getting knocked down in the boxing ring and bouncing back up, ready for more.
It's easy to look at a failure as a personal shortcoming, but it's healthier to embrace failure as part of the entrepreneurial journey. Here are some reasons why it can help you succeed in business.
Related: 5 Habits of the Wealthy That Helped Them Get Rich
Failure happens to everyone.
You are going to fail at some point -- that's the reality of entrepreneurship. If you go through life thinking that you won't fail, then it will only hit you twice as hard when you do. If you know failure can be lurking around every corner, though, you can respond more quickly when it happens and make adjustments to correct the problem.
If you think failure isn't a possibility, it will take you much longer to respond and adjust. This can lead to multiple negative issues piling up on your back, eventually crippling your forward momentum.
Related: 11 Habits of Truly Happy People
Failure is an opportunity to learn.
Failure can teach us a lot. Everything leading up to failure is a lesson -- the choices you made at the time, the reasoning behind your decisions and so on. If you have the right mindset, you can dissect the failure and learn from it.
"There are two responses to failure," says John Foy, attorney and founder of John Foy & Associates. "You can get bogged down or you can grow. What distinguishes a good entrepreneur from a mediocre one is which option they select. You can either get discouraged and contemplate giving up or embrace the failure and learn from it."
Related: 5 Habits of the Wealthy That Helped Them Get Rich
Overcoming challenges promotes strength.
Seeing failure as a challenge rather than a personal shortcoming can be immensely helpful to entrepreneurs during their journey. Every failure you encounter is an obstacle to overcome, and successful entrepreneurs navigate around several until finally "making it."
When you are no longer scared of failure, you have less to hold you back when go after your dreams and goals. We encounter scary situations daily, and the sooner you eliminate fear from your thought process, the sooner you will be able to go after your goals with 100 percent focus.
A good example of a company that nearly failed but came back stronger in the end is Apple and its decision to oust Steve Jobs in 1985. There's some debate whether removing Jobs caused the stagnant sales for the next ten years, but nobody can deny that when they brought him back twelve years later, sales improved.
Now, several years later, thanks to Jobs' creativity and marketing charisma, Apple is a household name and its brand has some of the most sought-after technology products in the world.
"The only way you will know your limits is to explore them. Failures teach you what you can and cannot do. Knowing this helps you accurately plan for the future, and work toward your goals," suggests Anton Ignatenko, CEO of Lead Network.
Personally, I have failed several times, and I would never be where I am today if I let a single failure stop me or get in the way of my goals. Instead, I embrace them and use them as a learning experience as well as motivation.
Will I fail again in the future? Probably.
Will I let that stop me? Absolutely not.
