I failed at my startup, and it’s absolutely OK

​​Failing. Fail. Failure. ​

How do you feel about these words?

I’ll tell you how I feel — indifferent. But these words used to bring about a tightness in my chest, a sinking feeling in my stomach, low energy, dissatisfaction, fear, and, sometimes, envy toward everyone who didn’t seem to be failing. Thankfully, I don’t feel that way anymore. These are now just the best words to describe something that didn’t work out. So, I totally understand if you’ve used these words before, but next time, don’t say, “I failed.” Instead, say, “I haven’t succeeded yet,” or, “I have come up against a challenge.”

I’ll try not to get too deep and heavy. I was writing this on a sunny day in Italy. It was morning and I was in my bright pink checkered pajamas and comfy hoodie. It wasn’t a time to get heavy.

I feel the time has come to share a little bit of my story with you from the last few years because in a few more years, I will have forgotten the early stages of building a business. Maybe this moment and the thoughts I have on failure can help a new business owner who has just left their 9-to-5.

​The first idea will set you free, but not in the way you think

My story is the same as thousands of others. I didn’t like my corporate job, so I left and set out to start my own business.

When I left my job, I had zero business experience, very little interpersonal skills, and zero personal development skills. I had extremely poor emotional development and a complete lack of focus.

At that time, I thought I was going to change the world in a heartbeat. Now, I am beginning to understand the only thing I needed to change was myself. I did have enough sense to realize that this was kind of a big change—leaping out of a steady paycheck and career path into a blank space to create a vision for my future from scratch.

I had money saved and booked several months to go and volunteer at a retreat center in Spain. It was here that my first business idea was formed—well, a name and a concept: City Calm.

I wanted to help people who are stressed out and overworked in the city to feel at ease and stay connected with themselves and others. ​

Just with the details I’ve given so far, I hope you can now understand why I was not in a position to show anyone the path to embody any kind of peace or tranquility in a city. I had just run away from one and was hiding out at a yoga retreat in Spain, decompressing and trying to come up with a plan.

Planning doesn’t generate revenue

Enjoy the daily process of improving your craft

Passion for a subject isn’t enough

Using contrast positively