Stop what you're doing right now. Close your eyes, and picture your idea of success. What do you see?
A high-paying job? A fancy car? A business idea that took off? A happy relationship?
Now ponder this: in any of those images of success, do you see the risks that were taken and even the failures that happened alongside the success? Or do you only see the bright and shiny 'success,' packaged up in a pretty bow?
Chances are, you're in the latter camp—like most people. And because people believe success is often devoid of failure and struggle, it stops people from even trying. It's too big of a risk to try and possibly fail, they think, so why even begin? The same holds true for potentially challenging, time-consuming or risky marketing activities or campaigns.
But what if we changed the definition of success... to one of taking chances and actually failing?
For many of us, perfectionism is often what gets in the way. Who can relate? (I'm raising both my hands.) I know how this mindset, of only expecting our very best all. the. time. can suck us into this trap. It's what I like to call perfectionism paralysis. It can feel like a straight jacket—that unless you can exceed expectations and deliver 110%, then you'd rather not try at all.
But there is hope for a different perspective. In the below HubSpot video, they frame things differently. Or rather, try to get us to frame things differently. Their message is this: What if we started to look at success as actually failing? Sound crazy?
Hear me out. In order to succeed, one is going to need to take chances, and inevitably, there will be failures along the way. Hate to break it to you, perfectionist, but there WILL BE FAILURES.
Haven't you heard the stories of Edison and how he tried hundreds or even thousands of times, only to fail time and time again? And yet, somehow, it's only that ONE success that sticks—the one we know about today. We think Edison is a genius, right? He invented light, for goodness sakes! Yet... did we see him struggling for years, feeling like a failure? Of course not. We see the success and the triumph. And think that smart, accomplished and successful people only (or mostly only) succeed.
This video reminds us that even the most successful and brilliant minds create failures. They must. In order to succeed, they must take chances. And in taking chances, they fail (sometimes). But that's not what matters. It's all part of the process—or the journey—on the way to success.
Check out the "Why Only Those Who Fail Can Succeed" video by HubSpot:
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