For when you’re afraid of failing...

And just like that, it’s December.

This time last year, during this first week of December, I hosted a five-day virtual event called Ignite Your Best Year Yet. It was probably one of the coolest, most impactful events I’ve ever done, and the feedback we got from everyone who attended was incredible. It was literally life-changing, and I don’t say that lightly.

And yet, my team and I decided not to host it again this year, not because it wasn’t valuable, but because it was too hard to convince people that it was worth spending money on. 

Basically, it was too hard to sell.

There’s an old saying in marketing—”you have to give people what they need, but sell them what they want.” Essentially that means that no matter how good your product might be, and no matter how much you know it could help them, if people don’t perceive it as valuable—something worth spending their hard-earned money on—it will fail.

It’s a hard lesson, but one I’ve had to learn as a business owner many times over.

Just because you have an IDEA, doesn’t mean other people will be excited about that idea. It doesn’t mean they’ll buy your idea, or even want it.

And that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad idea. It might be a great idea.

But sometimes it’s the timing that’s wrong. Sometimes it’s the positioning that doesn’t connect right. Sometimes it’s the execution that falls short.

For whatever reason, your idea fails.

Because failure is part of life. It’s going to happen, whether you want it to or not.

And when it does, you have a choice.

Do you shut down and give up, or do you find a way to pivot? To start over? To try again?

I often tell my students in Elite Blog Academy, “the biggest predictor of your success is NOT your big brilliant idea. Chances are it will fail. And it’s not how smart you are or what degree you have, or what college you went to. It’s not how many books you’ve read, or how many courses you’ve taken. Your biggest predictor of success is your ability to try and keep trying. To keep going, even when you sometimes fail.”

Frankly, it’s a tough pill to swallow because none of us want to fail.

In fact, one thing I learned in all my research for my book Do It Scared® is that, by far, the biggest fear that most people have is the fear of failure—of making a mistake or getting it wrong.

It paralyzes us and keeps us from taking action.

But another thing I learned from all that research was that there is actually something worse for many people than the fear of failure.

It’s the pain of regret.

The agony over what might have been, if only you had been brave enough to try.

Because mistakes and failure only hurt for a little while, but the pain of regret can follow you for the rest of your life.

Thomas Edison famously once said, “I haven’t failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Along those same lines, Maya Angelou wisely observed that “courage allows the successful woman to fail and learn powerful lessons from the failure, so that in the end, she didn’t fail at all.”

In other words? There are no mistakes, only lessons.

The truth is that I’ve failed more times than I care to admit. Sometimes those mistakes are painful. Sometimes they’re embarrassing. But I don’t regret trying, or even the mistakes I’ve made. 

Because in the end, it’s all brought me to where I am today. 

It’s certainly given me more compassion and empathy, and maybe even made me a little wiser.

And the same holds true for you.

So that’s my challenge for you this week. To take an honest look inward and ask yourself what you’ve been holding yourself back from because you’re afraid to fail. Is it asking for that promotion at work? Reconnecting with a friend or family member? Getting serious about your health goals? Starting that business? Taking that risk?

What would it look like to be brave and try? And what’s the regret you’ll face if you don’t?

Live with purpose, friend, and have a joy filled week!

xoxo, Ruth

P.S. Did you participate in Ignite Your Best Year Yet last year? I’d love to hear an update and know how it impacted your life this year! Just hit reply to this email and let me know!

P.P.S. And if you’re curious about Ignite Your Best Year Yet and want to check it out and see how valuable it really is, you can do that HERE.

This week’s podcast episode…

What’s cooking in my kitchen…

Here’s the recipe I shared last week:

The latest from my Instagram…

Instagram is my jam! If you’re there too, I’d love to connect with you—find me at @RuthSoukup or @ruthsoukupbiz for online business tips!

ruthsoukup

View more on Instagram