What if I FAIL?

90% of startups FAIL. 

And almost every Founder I’ve met is deathly AFRAID of failure. 

What do you make of this paradox?

I think it captures the ESSENTIAL challenge of what it means to be a Founder.

It’s not only the challenge of building the business itself, but also the challenge of facing our deepest fear: the IDEA of failure.

The idea of failure is often the source of our stress, anxiety, overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and more.

But the idea of failure can also be a pathway towards greater internal freedom, if we’re willing to examine it more closely.

That starts by deconstructing our idea of failure:

1. What does failure actually mean to you or look like? 

2. What is the actual physical / material / financial threat to you? Your self-beliefs? Your image?

3. What emotions around failure do you fear feeling?

It continues with getting clarity on our ability to handle that failure:

1. When have you “failed” before?

2. Could you be okay if your current idea of failure happened? 

3. If so, what enables you to be okay with it - the learning, the satisfaction of trying, etc.?
   If not, what perspective or quality would you need to access to be okay with it?

These questions can help us see HOW we build up failure in our minds. 

And the more we question the assumptions or beliefs underneath our ideas of failure, the greater relief we have from its illusory grip.

Because more often than not, our fear of failure has nothing to do with the failure itself…

And everything to do with how we feel about ourselves or our fear around what others will think of us.

Reflection Questions:

1. How often do I think about failure?

2. How does worrying about failure benefit me? How does it cost me?

3. What have I not told anyone about my fears around failure?