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Failing to Fail Fast

Anything related to matters of the mind

Drive2Riches

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One year ago I was in the middle of performing maximum hourly output for a predetermined compensation. I had a set fee per hour for the work I was doing on that project, and the client had set a limited budget per week. By the time the client stopped paying, I found myself in the middle of a project that had the momentum to become more than what it had yet become. What did I have to show for those months I worked on the project?

I mistakenly and naively thought that I had a future partner as a client. But I was on my own. I discovered that I had been alone all along.

On one hand, my project could have a big payoff, and on the other hand it could be a complete dud. The thing is, I can't know. I can't know until I push ahead. I can't assume that this project will fail, because I have not put enough work and effort into it's completion. And I can't assume this project will be a success either, for exactly the same reasons!

I developed a website for my idea, and during development ran into a couple of technical snags here and there. I needed to overcome some technical bumps before I could move forward with the site. My progress slowed, I got busy with other things for several weeks. Today, I am looking at my unfinished website, and looking at the notes which had been written while I was sifting through my big ideas for the project.

I have learned so much from my experience with it that I believe I will only be learning more as I push ahead. Fail or not. And I'm not there yet.


One thing I've learned in the forum is this: keep going. While I can't realistically expect this idea to pay my expenses and be the financial ticket to freedom I'm eventually going to have, neither can I consider it to be a waste of my time.

When I first posted here about my idea, I got one or two encouraging comments about persevering. I also got very good advice about finding a J O B that pays the bills rather than fixating on a vision of glory for my big untested idea.

So my problem seems to be that while I "got busy" for several weeks, I had lost track of what I was doing on the project. I stopped learning... I stopped doing - at least temporarily. I still have the problem of living within my means and the pursuit of expanding my means. But the project still exists. I failed to continue working on it, finding an excuse of some kind. I failed to keep working on the project that kept my head in the game.


This was a project that provided fulfillment because of it's possibilities and potential. It was a self-perpetuating personal inspiration. When I kept a bigger picture in mind, I performed all the required tasks with energy and interest. As long as the bigger picture looks like I haven't got enough information to believe that I can't fail, I must keep working. I must keep going on the project. Keep doing things, keep learning things. Keep overcoming challenges. Keep discovering challenges to overcome. I need to learn if my ideas won't work or if they need changing.

I have developed a desire to push myself until I believe that what I am doing really can't be successful. I have discovered that I am more motivated to FAIL than I am expecting to succeed. Because when I fail, it's the only time I can perceive what other things are possible. I need to get this project out of the way so that I can pursue the next idea which I have not discovered yet. My next big idea will surely surface when I'm busily working on my current idea.


The bottom line is this: I need to keep developing my project further. I need to keep my financial head above water. I need to keep learning from experience. I must keep an open mind. I must keep working on that which I had once imagined could be something of a huge success story in the future. I need to stay inspired. I must never give up.

Pick the torch back up again. There's flame enough to finish this race.


~
 
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Drive2Riches

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It's fascinating what can occur once you realize clarity of thought. The post above reveals the place I got to mentally, after wrestling with my frustration pertaining to a project which was, I thought, going to be a very successful venture. While daunting, I managed to keep going. When I slowed down and ran into glitches, I had stopped for a time. I wrote the post to say that I wouldn't give up on myself.

My energy was powerful at the time, and nothing could stop me from trying.

I got back into that project, and was motivated to push through until I found success no matter what. At the very least, I was learning and gaining experience.

What is most interesting is that I found something else just one week later. It was completely unrelated to this project and sent me off into a completely new direction. But I found that I was entirely ready for it. My energy easily shifted to this new activity, and I began to find success almost immediately!


Keep working on your project, despite its daunting nature and never give up. Something unexpected might be just around the corner. It's the ENERGY that you have while you're working on the project, and not the project itself, that is the MOST important asset. It's what carries over to new things no matter how unrelated they may seem to be.

~
 
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RogueInnovation

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One thing I've learned in the forum is this: keep going.
I need to keep my financial head above water. I need to keep learning from experience. I must keep an open mind. I must keep working on that which I had once imagined could be something of a huge success story in the future. I need to stay inspired. I must never give up.

Pick the torch back up again. There's flame enough to finish this race.
Keep working on your project, despite its daunting nature and never give up. Something unexpected might be just around the corner. It's the ENERGY that you have while you're working on the project, and not the project itself, that is the MOST important asset. It's what carries over to new things no matter how unrelated they may seem to be.

Sounds like you learnt something invaluable about how effort can become a pivot in and of itself, well done, keep it up.


As for failing fast. I can't say I've ever agreed with it. Re-evaluate fast, I would agree with.
You never really fail if you try and don't get disheartened by it. And true success is just one of those things that has to incubate and clarify in your mind a while, but it can only incubate properly if you are doing the hard yards.

Plan for deviations from where you were aiming, but plan to also get back to them if they matter, and just keep reigniting the motivation to SEE it done, not have it "be possible".

Focus is as crucial as confidence :)
 
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