Fighting the Stigma of Failure
Failure is such a harsh term for the journey toward success. It almost feels like you should be wearing a Scarlet letter on your forehead, so that everyone can see the shame you feel in not reaching your goals.
The reality is, almost any entrepreneur youíve ever heard about has seen their fair share of failures. Itís just something everyone goes through on their way to the finish line.
It doesnít mean they didnít feel the same shame youíre feeling (because they did). It doesnít mean they werenít frustrated and at the point of giving up at times (because they were).
It just means youíre doing the same thing everyone else had to do as they tried and tweaked their business efforts to find their ultimate success. Youíre probably worried about the stigma of failure in your niche.
It can be hard, even on the Internet, to maintain a semblance of confidence when everyone has seen you try something and flop at it. This might be in the form of not seeing comments on your blog, getting denied as an affiliate, or seeing a launch of your product falter and fizzle out.
But in terms of stigma, the only one feeling that is you. Thereís no one else out there pointing fingers and laughing at you for attempting something and comping up short. Thatís probably opposite of what people are thinking and saying.
The reality is, thereís great admiration online for those who give it their all and stand tall, even when theyíre facing a failure. It makes people cheer you on for upcoming endeavors, and reach out to offer help if youíre transparent enough to ask for it.
The worst part is, you might feel so humiliated that you simply back off and hide in the shadows instead of come back fighting for a second chance. Youíve probably heard the story about the lightbulb and how many times failure happened before that one bulb lit up and it changed the world.
The same thing can happen in your business. Instead of wallowing in your emotions about not succeeding, go over your failure with a fine-toothed comb to see where you went wrong so you can fix it next time.
This is what a true entrepreneur does. They go back to the drawing board and figure out what happened that set the success off course. This is a more positive, healthy way to approach setbacks and obstacles.