Facing the Fear of Failure

I stumbled upon a great quote by Spanx founder Sara Blakely on the subject of failure:

"When my brother and I were growing up, my father would encourage us to fail. We'd sit around the dinner table and he'd ask, "What did you guys fail at this week?" If we had nothing to tell him, he'd be disappointed. The logic seems counterintuitive, but it worked beautifully.

He knew that many people become paralyzed by the fear of failure. They're constantly afraid of what others will think if they don't do a great job and, as a result, take no risks. My father wanted us to try everything and feel free to push the envelope. His attitude taught me to define failure as not trying something I want to do instead of not achieving the right outcome."

Source: Getting There

It really got me thinking that fear of failure is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to starting a new business.

Taking that leap of faith can be so daunting many of us can't overcome it alone. This is really what a coach is for. Just like in sport, when a coach will help an athlete push through the pain to get to the next level, in business a coach can help you overcome stagnation, procrastination or fear that holds you back from taking action.

Don't let your only failure be to do something you're passionate about.