How to handle failure - A mindset

There are an incredible amount of people promoting failure as a reason to celebrate rather than a reason to despair. I've read blogs, listened to motivational speakers and read hundreds of LinkedIn posts around failure. Yet, still, I never really understood it… until in my late 20s. 

For most of my life, I have been afraid to fail. While playing basketball in high school, I was afraid of losing. In university, I was the kid who had test anxiety. So, naturally … When I started Stagecast (or any of the other projects), I was afraid of failing. Afraid of disappointing my colleagues and investors. Ultimately, Stagecast failed. Don’t get me wrong. It hurt. I was so disappointed with myself.

But the truth is, if I could turn back time, I’d choose to do the same thing again. Because I realise how much I grew through it. How much I learned. How much I changed. 

"If I could turn back time, I’d choose to do the same thing again. I realise how much I grew through it. How much I learned. How much I changed."

And although it did not turn out the million dollar success that I hoped it would be for my team and investors, I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved during the time. Failure and success sometimes lie really close together. 

They say you miss 100% of the shots you do not take. And we took that shot. We put ourselves in a position where we could win. We had the discipline and courage to stand up and give it a really good try. And we won. We won many, many times. We won talent, we won awards, we won funding and we won a ton of international clients. If anyone would have told me in the beginning that we’d be working for brands like Google, Mercedes, Spotify or HP, I would have been so proud. 

Now, did we ultimately fail? Yes We did. But did we put up a good run and created a real chance to “make it”? Heck yes, we did. Of that I’m proud. 

If you are thinking about starting a venture or making a big change but are stuck in the planning phase - I believe this is a key insight: The person who started and failed is in a much better position than the person who is still strategizing to start. 

You do not know what you do not know. And the only way to close that gap is to start, learn and improve. Maybe you will fail. That’s ok. You can learn a lot by reading and observing others. But ultimately, the only way to know your path to success is to walk it yourself.  

"You do not know what you do not know. And the only way to close that gap is to start, learn and improve."

So, get up. Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid to have never tried and just get started. 

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