DON'T BE AFRAID TO FAIL.

Well, what if you succeed?

Why have you chosen to see this half-glass of water as ‘half-empty’ instead of ‘half-full’?

The fear of failure is the most crippling reason why many of us will never start a business in our lifetime.

We admire successful entrepreneurs as if they knew from the beginning that they would succeed. You should know that they had the same doubts like you do. They all feared for an uncertain future, an irregular income and total failure.

What if you fail?

What if your business idea doesn’t sell or work?

While these are very important questions, you may never know the answers unless you try.

In the world of entrepreneurship, success and failure live in the same house. If you’re afraid of failure, there’s a very thin chance that you will ever taste success. How do you win a boxing match if you’re afraid of entering the ring?

Business is, and has always been, about taking risks. That’s why entrepreneurs are known as ‘risk takers’.

There is always an element of risk in everything we do in our daily lives.

Walking or driving to work (or school) everyday is risky. Have you really thought about it? What if a car comes out from nowhere and crashes into you? Is it possible? Of course! Will you let that fear stop you from leaving your house? Definitely not!

You still leave your house every morning knowing that the risk exists that you may not return. But you still take that risk. 

In the world of business, that risk is no different.

Starting a business is like writing an exam. You cannot read the examiner’s mind to know what questions will be asked, but you still show up and write the exam. 

You took a risk; but a calculated one. By studying hard for the exam and practicing some test questions on your own, you were able to increase your chances of passing the exam.

Also to pass or fail an exam, you have to write it first. The same rule applies to starting a business. How can you know you will fail or succeed if you don’t start?

Like the hardworking student who studies hard for an exam, a smart entrepreneur must have a business plan. A business plan is a guide that often helps to reduce the chances of failure in a business.

A student who has prepared well for an exam is more confident about his/her abilities to answer the exam questions and adapt to any ‘surprises.’ The same confidence applies to an entrepreneur who has taken his/her time and applied some discipline to prepare a plan.

My most favorite quote that inspires me in times of fear comes from one of our continent’s greatest icons – Nelson Mandela. It goes:

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

Nobody else could have said it better!