How to recover from failure (especially in public)

Jan 28, 2015

Wes Schaeffer

Weekly Whisper Life Lessons Professional Development Entrepreneur

"2015 Blizzard NYC" by Adrian Cabrero

"IMG_7303" by wakitu (SoCal snow storm 12/31/14)

As a degreed meteorologist it pains me to declare THE Blizzard of 2015 was a dud. I mean, come on, we got more snow in SoCal on New Year's Eve than New York City did this week!

Everyone from Al Roker to Harry Enten at FiveThirtyEight got it wrong for all the world to see. The nanny…er...mayor of New York City shut the subways down due to (some) snow for the first time in its 110-year history.

Heads will roll because of this public mistake.

Have you ever blown it for all the world to see?
How did you feel?
How did you handle it?
How did you recover?

Do you think that's the last time you'll make a mistake that anyone knows about?

When you're in the arena—meaning you're not on the sidelines with your face painted and a beer in your hand yelling at your team from 100 feet away—mistakes will happen.

So will bumps, bruises, broken bones, and maybe even serious injuries.

It's how you know you're alive.

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!'"
~Hunter S. Thompson, author of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream"

Sure, the remnants of the injury may last a lifetime (remind me to show you the scar on my right wrist from my football injury in 1984) but scars make for great stories.

The process of obtaining them are also great teachers. We know this because it has been clearly determined that adrenaline is like a branding iron for your memory. When you add it to an experience, it leaves a mark you may never forget.

It's why we remember exactly where we were when we heard about the 9/11 attacks.

Chit-chatting with your Sunday-brunch friends about what you're thinking about doing is not memorable.

Making bad prospecting calls are memorable. (Have you seen this week's flow chart on how to tell if you're about to make a really bad prospecting call? It's quite funny if I say so myself.)

Losing $2.9 million like Gene Hammett did taught him a thing or two about partnerships.

Climbing the wrong corporate ladder gave Jeff Shore the motivation to jump out and do his own thing 15 years ago.

And freezing up on the Arsenio Hall show in front of an international audience taught Jason Scheff, the lead singer for the band, Chicago, that you can bounce back from big flops.

Do more than simply enjoy those podcast interviews. Take notes and take action.

I give you permission to fail with audacity and aplomb. It means you're alive. Welcome to the human entrepreneurial race.

If you need more help growing your sales, check out the following resources scattered around this site and a few others I operate, such as: