Day 520 - Failure is but... - https://golifelog.com/posts/failure-is-but-1654311387469
This is a sum-up of everything I learned and relearned today about failure, from the comments in just one single tweet -https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1532724727948537856
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Failure is but just research.
Failure is but another data point, in a long series of data points of wins and fails in the lifetime of your product, in the life journey as an entrepreneur.
Failure doesn’t mean you failed.
The launch didn’t fail.
The product didn’t fail.
I didn’t fail.
The experiment failed.
Now just move on to the next experiment.
Launches don’t have to mean anything.
It’s just an arbitrary event I created in the calendar.
Besides, it’s just been one week. Give it a year, and maybe you can call it a failure (if ever).
A failed launch is as meaningful and informative as a successful launch.
Use it, don’t be swayed by it.
Another perspective:
It’s random. It’s chance-driven. It’s luck.
There’s countless moving parts that led to the outcome today, most of which might not even be in my control.
Do the exact same launch tomorrow, and it might win.
Such is the game in an unpredictable, stochastic world of entrepreneurship and Twitter.
Luck drives outcomes a lot more than we like to accord it.
Just focus on what I can control - the process, my outputs, my effort, my intentions.
Impatience with actions, patience with results.
Downside is down to us, upside is up to God.
Failure is just a starting point, not the end point.
Avoiding failure means you’ll also avoid success.
No attempts means zero results.
Shots on goal means you’ll miss some.
But it also means you hit some.
See it this way:
Zero sign-ups isn’t a new low, it’s rock bottom.
Literally, deepest part of the ocean, Mariana trench bottom. You can’t get negative number of sign-ups.
Zero is as low I can go.
Everything else is UP after.
Truth is, 90% of launches fail on the get-go.
All the wins you see on Twitter and the news?
All survivorship bias.
All just a minority report.
If everyone fails then no one does.
Also, fact that I launched, is already way more than 99% of everyone.
In fact, there is no such thing as failures where there’s learning involved.
You either win, or you learned something.
You can’t ever fail that way.
Like Edison said, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”
Think about it this way:
Say you truly failed failed. What would you do then? Give up, quit, go back to 9-to-5?
Going back to a job is a non-negotiable for me. I’m too unemployable now, too deep in and enmeshed with my products and entrepreneurship to go back to working for someone else. That freedom is addictive. It’s transformative.
I can’t ever go back anyway. So what if I fail? I’m going to get back up the next day, and try again. And again. And again.
Till it works. I have no choice.
---
Failure is but just research.
Failure is but another data point, in a long series of data points of wins and fails in the lifetime of your product, in the life journey as an entrepreneur.
Failure doesn’t mean you failed.
The launch didn’t fail.
The product didn’t fail.
I didn’t fail.
The experiment failed.
Now just move on to the next experiment.
Launches don’t have to mean anything.
It’s just an arbitrary event I created in the calendar.
Besides, it’s just been one week. Give it a year, and maybe you can call it a failure (if ever).
A failed launch is as meaningful and informative as a successful launch.
Use it, don’t be swayed by it.
Another perspective:
It’s random. It’s chance-driven. It’s luck.
There’s countless moving parts that led to the outcome today, most of which might not even be in my control.
Do the exact same launch tomorrow, and it might win.
Such is the game in an unpredictable, stochastic world of entrepreneurship and Twitter.
Luck drives outcomes a lot more than we like to accord it.
Just focus on what I can control - the process, my outputs, my effort, my intentions.
Impatience with actions, patience with results.
Downside is down to us, upside is up to God.
Failure is just a starting point, not the end point.
Avoiding failure means you’ll also avoid success.
No attempts means zero results.
Shots on goal means you’ll miss some.
But it also means you hit some.
See it this way:
Zero sign-ups isn’t a new low, it’s rock bottom.
Literally, deepest part of the ocean, Mariana trench bottom. You can’t get negative number of sign-ups.
Zero is as low I can go.
Everything else is UP after.
Truth is, 90% of launches fail on the get-go.
All the wins you see on Twitter and the news?
All survivorship bias.
All just a minority report.
If everyone fails then no one does.
Also, fact that I launched, is already way more than 99% of everyone.
In fact, there is no such thing as failures where there’s learning involved.
You either win, or you learned something.
You can’t ever fail that way.
Like Edison said, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”
Think about it this way:
Say you truly failed failed. What would you do then? Give up, quit, go back to 9-to-5?
Going back to a job is a non-negotiable for me. I’m too unemployable now, too deep in and enmeshed with my products and entrepreneurship to go back to working for someone else. That freedom is addictive. It’s transformative.
I can’t ever go back anyway. So what if I fail? I’m going to get back up the next day, and try again. And again. And again.
Till it works. I have no choice.