Don't worry, you're ALREADY a giant failure

[G-Man]

I don't know why I'm afraid of failure. I'm already a giant failure. There's a chance you are too.

This isn't a rant, or a poor ole me, so just hear me out. I say I'm a failure because I'm already basically living my personal worst case scenario. I realized this because I'm currently re-reading TMF and @MJ DeMarco suggests that most of us are afraid of failure because we more or less overestimate how terrible the worst case scenario is. I decided to write out my worst case scenario.

Now, you have to eliminate the improbable and super-terrible scenarios that would ruin literally anyone's life, like you get a brain tumor the size of a softball, or your wife and child die in a car wreck. You rule these out because they're highly unlikely, and they're going to ruin your life whether you're rich or you're poor. So, what was I left with? What's my personal hell? What's the daily existence that I fear?

My personal worst case scenario is that I have to wake up to an alarm clock, fight traffic, and go to a job making someone else rich while my wife and child are at home having moments that I miss.

This is a good news/bad news revelation. I'm already living my hell. I'm already a giant failure.

Now, there's a chance that the start up I work for blows up, my options explode in value and I get bonused out of my contract, but it's not a guarantee, and I'm not even in the driver's seat.

So, I spent my free weekend working on a new product and learning some new skills. Whether this start up thing works out or not, I'm not leaving somebody else in the driver's seat of my life.

I'm a lot less afraid of failure than I was. Why?

Because I'm already living my worst case scenario! .... and it's not even that bad.

Pretty freeing, isn't it?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Spicymemer45]

I don't know why I'm afraid of failure, given that I'm already a giant failure. There's a chance you are too.

This isn't a rant, or a poor ole me, so just hear me out. I say I'm a failure because I'm already basically living my personal worst case scenario. I realized this because I'm currently re-reading TMF and @MJ DeMarco suggests that most of us are afraid of failure because we more or less overestimate how terrible the worst case scenario is. I decided to write out my worst case scenario.

Now, you have to eliminate the improbable and super-terrible scenarios that would ruin literally anyone's life, like you get a brain tumor the size of a softball, or your wife and child die in a car wreck. You rule these out because they're highly unlikely, and they're going to ruin your life whether you're rich or your poor. So, what was I left with, what's my personal hell? What's the daily existence that I fear?

My personal worst case scenario is that I have to wake up to an alarm clock, fight traffic, and go to a job making someone else rich while my wife and child are at home having moments that I miss.

This is a good news/bad news revelation. I'm already living my hell. I'm already a giant failure.

Now, there's a chance that the start up I work for blows up, my options explode in value and I get bonused out of my contract, but it's not a guarantee, and I'm not even in the driver's seat.

So, I spent my free weekend working on a new product and learning some new skills. Whether this start up thing works out or not, I'm not leaving somebody else in the driver's seat of my life.

I'm a lot less afraid of failure than I was. Why?

Because I'm already living my worst case scenario! .... and it's not even that bad.

Pretty freeing, isn't it?

Paradigm Shift Worthy

Rep++

 

[jon.a]

I don't know why I'm afraid of failure, given that I'm already a giant failure. There's a chance you are too.

This isn't a rant, or a poor ole me, so just hear me out. I say I'm a failure because I'm already basically living my personal worst case scenario. I realized this because I'm currently re-reading TMF and @MJ DeMarco suggests that most of us are afraid of failure because we more or less overestimate how terrible the worst case scenario is. I decided to write out my worst case scenario.

Now, you have to eliminate the improbable and super-terrible scenarios that would ruin literally anyone's life, like you get a brain tumor the size of a softball, or your wife and child die in a car wreck. You rule these out because they're highly unlikely, and they're going to ruin your life whether you're rich or your poor. So, what was I left with, what's my personal hell? What's the daily existence that I fear?

My personal worst case scenario is that I have to wake up to an alarm clock, fight traffic, and go to a job making someone else rich while my wife and child are at home having moments that I miss.

This is a good news/bad news revelation. I'm already living my hell. I'm already a giant failure.

Now, there's a chance that the start up I work for blows up, my options explode in value and I get bonused out of my contract, but it's not a guarantee, and I'm not even in the driver's seat.

So, I spent my free weekend working on a new product and learning some new skills. Whether this start up thing works out or not, I'm not leaving somebody else in the driver's seat of my life.

I'm a lot less afraid of failure than I was. Why?

Because I'm already living my worst case scenario! .... and it's not even that bad.

Pretty freeing, isn't it?

Well said!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Worst case is still a good case... you have a roof over your head? Heat? A warm bed? Indoor plumbing? A hot shower? Nutritional food? More than a few shirts? A mobile phone?

You are already rich.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[G-Man]

Worst case is still a good case... you have a roof over your head? Heat? A warm bed? Indoor plumbing? A hot shower? Nutritional food? More than a few shirts? A mobile phone?

You are already rich.

Yes I am! This is something I used to be more acutely aware of, but since moving back to the US, and Dallas with all of its' 30k millionaires, it's easy to forget and let the fear of the imaginary creep back in. Thanks for writing the book MJ. I needed that.

 

[MidwestLandlord]

Excellent points @G-Man

I'm in that awkward area where I'm above my "worst case" but below "where I want to be"

I've tilted the odds in my favor to get to "where I want to be" but some days it feels more like a 50/50 chance haha.

So, I spent my free weekend working on a new product and learning some new skills. Whether this start up thing works out or not, I'm not leaving somebody else in the driver's seat of my life.

The @G-Man cannot be stopped!

 

[G-Man]

I'm in that awkward area where I'm above my "worst case" but below "where I want to be"

I've tilted the odds in my favor to get to "where I want to be" but some days it feels more like a 50/50 chance haha.

There is a sense in which I'm above my worst case.... I'm not paycheck to paycheck and could probably wing it 12-18 mos without a job, but this can be a trap too. It seems to have 2 gravitational pulls:

• Get comfortable
• Make treasonous choices

I don't think you'll do either, @MidwestLandlord

Every time I feel the temptation for treasonous choices, I see something fortuitous. This weekend it was a line 4 cars deep in every lane at Costco gas. All of them were nicer than mine, yet they're either so broke or slowlane they're lining up for 15 minutes to save 2 cents/gallon. Someone in a 50k Mercedes waiting 15 minutes to save 50 cents? It's basically MJ's free bucket of chicken analogy.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[c_morris]

Every time I feel the temptation for treasonous choices, I see something fortuitous. This weekend it was a line 4 cars deep in every lane at Costco gas. All of them were nicer than mine, yet they're either so broke or slowlane they're lining up for 15 minutes to save 2 cents/gallon. Someone in a 50k Mercedes waiting 15 minutes to save 50 cents? It's basically MJ's free bucket of chicken analogy.

I realized along time ago that waiting in line for gas is not worth it. For me a disparity of 10c/liter (Canada) equates to a 4 bucks saved. I'd much rather pay the extra and get on with my life.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

 

[c_morris]

@G-Man totally agree with your OP as well. Pretty much living my worst case now, so if I fail I continue and try again. I think most people don't realize that there is way more upside than downside when it comes to entrepeneurship. Everyone envisions catastrophic failure that leaves them homeless vs. epic success that affords them whatever they desire.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

 

[G-Man]

Everyone envisions catastrophic failure that leaves them homeless vs. epic success that affords them whatever they desire.

Very true. If you live in a Western democracy the truth is that your bottom is not that bad. I lived in Africa for close to 2 years - no AC, no wifi, often no power (including the entire month of Nov 2010),.... and it was one of the best times in my life. Granted hot as hell. I slept on the concrete a lot of nights because the mattress holds heat near your body, and I'm not sure my body would hold up as well as it did even 7-8 years ago, but it's mostly about deciding what's important to you.

Also, there's an odd financial peace that happens when there's nothing available to buy even if you wanted to.

EDIT: I'm not romanticizing poverty in underdeveloped countries. Believe me, when I got sick from tainted food, money to pay a European doctor literally made the difference between life and death.

I realized along time ago that waiting in line for gas is not worth it. For me a disparity of 10c/liter (Canada) equates to a 4 bucks saved. I'd much rather pay the extra and get on with my life.

I don't think the treasonous choice is waiting in line to save on gas,... it's buying a car you can't afford so you're forced to waste your life waiting in line to save money on other stuff.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[G-Man]

Now, there's a chance that the start up I work for blows up,

Still hasn't blown up, but we got a 100k PO from a major national retailer that we would have never dreamed of getting in even a year ago. 100k might not seem like a big deal, but it's a single PO with more than we typically sell in a month.

The only person who hasn't told me to quit this job was Mrs. G-man. I realized that I'm already a failure, and that getting a job that pays twice as much as a senior accountant would be an even bigger long term failure. Because of that, I stuck around long enough to see this happen. Almost everyone else that used to work in this office is long gone. They'll never see it, because they didn't accept that they were already living a worst case scenario of mortgages, car notes, school loans and 40 minute commutes.

When you accept that you're already in a worst case scenario, and it isn't that bad, you stick around to see things through.

This might come to nothing, but it feels like the beginning of something yuge.