Failure doesn’t sound any good to most
of us. To some, it’s like being crushed by a ten wheeler truck and burying you
alive six feet under. (Pardon me as I am over working myself to come up with a
metaphor but just can’t). All I know is that it’s a disappointing feeling. Well,
I don’t know about you, but to me, it felt almost like that.
From my experience, failure has always
been a companion to me. It’s always there with me and somewhat an annoying
sucker multiplying every time I felt I’m at the verge of success. Since I was
young, being an entrepreneur/businessman was my long time dream. Reason is
mainly because, if I do business than work on a regular job, I would have total
control over my time. What I always thought during school days was that I could
wake up, and work anytime I want. (Hope I can tell it’s not because I was just
lazy). And most of all, I can do whatever I want. Wow, that’s something
amazing, isn’t it? Anyway, going back to where I was...to fulfil a long time
dream, I finally choose to get out of my comfort zone and into my courage zone
I fled. Or so I thought. Then decided to build an online agency from a job I started as a
freelancer in oDesk. If anyone believes in beginners luck, probably that’s the
word you can come up after a successful deal from a client. Oh, just can’t
forget that feeling of not spending hours just to earn money. And as far as I
can remember, that was the first time in my life that I felt so free.
Overwhelmed with the slight success, without knowing it, I lose the desire to
expand the business I started. Just a little fact, if you’re business isn’t
growing then you’re in real danger. And before I knew it, the project crumbled.
And just a few months ago, there I was financially struggling. But that wasn’t
bad after all because from deep thinking, I actually learned a lot from that experience.
Hoping you’ll learn from it too, I listed below the lessons I learned from my
failures.
Lesson #1 Failure Proves Your Human
I know it’s a devastating feeling
after failure. Many of us think that it’s something we should be ashamed of.
Well, here’s something I found out. We feel ashamed after failing because we
just care too much about what other people will say after seeing our downfall. And
simply for that reason, we then start to look down on ourselves because we were
not able to suffice what others expected of us. Like why should we? To me,
failing is something we should value. Why? It simply proves that we are human.
Heck, it’s good to know I’m neither a Martian nor a green coloured creature. You fail because you’re human and it’s normal.
Lesson #2 Failure is a Wake-up Call
To me, losing such a wonderful project
was total breakdown. How could I allow that to happen? How careless have I
been? Fortunately for me, I had mentors to remind me that being in a state of
failure is not something we should just grieve on. I mean, grieve but move on.
Why waste time looking back as if something’s going to change. Instead identify your mistakes and do something about it.
Lesson #3 Failure is a Time for Growth
and Expansion
Here’s one of my favourite quotes: “We learn wisdom from failure much more than
from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do;
and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery”― Samuel
Smiles
That is something someone shouldn’t dare
disagree. I have proven it and many people did. During my struggles, that was
the time that I grew more than ever. For the benefit of those who do not know,
getting an online job/project is not something someone can acquire by far. As I
tried much to land another project, rejection kept on coming at me after every
submission of proposal. Realizing that something’s wrong with me, which
definitely was, I did research on how to improve my agency profile, including
my own. Not only that, I started asking people who are successfully running an
agency of their own. In addition, I read and read on articles on how to submit
better proposals and how to run and ensure the success of your agency. Moreover,
I learned new skills to add value on my capabilities. By
now you must have figured it out, you must expand yourself in terms of
knowledge, wisdom, skills, etc.
Lesson #4 Just Because You Failed
Doesn’t Mean You Can No Longer Succeed
Let’s admit it, many people do believe
or think that they are not bound to succeed because they failed once, twice or
more. Sad but true. But here’s what I say, will someone ever succeed without
failing? To what I see it, success comes from rectified failure. If you fail, it simply means you need to do something more to
succeed. It may not be right now, but it will come later if you persist.
Lesson #5 Be Persistent after Failure
If you’re on the right path, being a
persistent bastard really does pay off. Can you imagine yourself regularly
doing something after every rejection? As I mentioned earlier, I kept on
getting rejections from clients every after proposal I submitted. Could there
be any distressing feeling than that? But since I believe I was taking the
right path, I pushed myself over and over again until I finally dig it. And to tell you, success is more felt fulfilling after
overcoming a challenge.
And there it goes people. Hope you’ve
had a good read. Just a little request though, if you find this article
helpful, feel free to share this via Facebook, Google+, Twitter to every
aspiring freelancers out there.
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