Failure: Falling down in business hurts

I was feeling particularly down the other day. Business hasn’t been going easily or smoothly these last few months. Then I began editing the forthcoming book by Stephen Marinaro with the working title “Brand ‘You’” and felt inspired and validated. Stephen makes some wonderful points about being an entrepreneur and the struggles. It made me realize I am not alone.
     I started to joke that I needed to write the book titled “Failure: what to do when you fall down in business.” The reason I wanted to be so blunt with the title was to help other entrepreneurs facing some of the major business issue I am facing. When I read Stephen’s book and the profiles included in our other book Habits and Attitudes, it made me feel better.
     No one wants to admit they’ve failed somehow or are facing some kind of failure. When it comes to social media we’re all about boasting about our successes. Don’t get me wrong I think a positive outlook is important. In reality, though, life doesn’t work off straight sunshine and shining, happy faces. Life can go wrong. Mistakes get made. It’s how we rise from the challenges that count.
     One thing I’ve realized is that patience plays a critical role in your rise from the ashes. I’ve often felt like these challenges just keep adding and piling on. I feel frustrated when I’m not making the kind of progress I want to make. Yet while you’re going through the lows just know that from the lows come the highs. You cannot reinvent yourself without first facing the process of rebuilding.
     Though for me as a highly educated and overall successful person I found it very difficult emotionally to realize I had some tough things to face and clean up. I wondered how someone like myself could fall on her face so hard. Did that make me less than I thought about myself? And that’s why I feel like a book that addresses what is more common than you realize would help other people.
     Why? Because as I said, no one is out there bragging how they messed up. So, when the chips are down you might feel alone and bad. You might think you’re the only who screwed up. Yet when you realize you are not the only one who faced problems and you’re not quite as misguided as you think then it’s comforting. Knowing some very successful people have pulled it out will help you.
     So, here I am. I am trying to rebuild business after some difficult times. I’ve even taken up driving Uber just to pay basic bills and keep my doors open. And I’m driving Uber with a positive attitude. I’ve met many great people doing it. It won’t be forever but at least whatever income I generate from driving I have the power to control. That is the difficult thing. You can’t always ensure sales will close. As an entrepreneur that can be harrowing when you don’t have dependable income. So driving Uber has taken off some of the stress.
     I hope my sharing on this blog makes someone out there feel a little better just like Stephen’s words in his forthcoming book made me feel better.