Tag: failure

Fail Fast? Not so fast …

I shudder each time I hear “fail fast”.  Words are gold – precious and not to be taken lightly. Honour your words. Failing is not an Olympic sport. It’s not as easy as it looks when you crash into the boards, fall on the slopes, turn an ankle and then dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and forge ahead and sometimes limp to the finish line.

MsBizWiz pondering
MsBizWiz

If I’m not mistaken, “fail fast” means to not dwell but to iterate, rapid prototype, A/B test, push boundaries, be daring, be courageous, be bold until you find a solution, an answer, a way to cross the “finish line”. Failing hurts. We don’t live in the hope we fail, do we?

Bianca Andreescu, our Canadian tennis phenom, prepares for her matches with visualization and meditation. “Working your mind (is important) because at this level everyone knows how to play tennis. The thing that separates the best from the rest is just the mindset.”

My Top Ten+ Losses and Gains (not in any order of importance):

  1. Loss of Country – Embrace the World.
  2. Loss of Home – Know how “home” truly feels.
  3. Loss of Job – Know work is not your worth.
  4. Loss of Career – Gain creativity.
  5. Loss of best friend – Gain acceptance.
  6. Loss of spouse – Know truth.
  7. Loss of all possessions – Know peace.
  8. Loss of mind – Gain self-compassion.
  9. Loss of confidence – Gain courage.
  10. Loss of sibling – Gain acceptance.
  11. Loss of health – Gain patience.
  12. Loss of business – Gain perspective.
MsBizWiz Thumbs Up
MsBizWiz Thumbs Up

Every loss and gain effects change. Through the lenses of loss, we endure, grow, and become more humane and maybe even more human. As we say good-bye to 2019 and position ourselves for a new year, a new decade, learn, learn fast. Listen, listen attentively. Lead, lead authentically and dream a little dream.

HashTagTalks for Small Biz

Kicking off with February #s:

TheFWords:  #failure #fortune  #fun #fear #FailureFollowedByFortune 

TheGwords: #grit #gratitude

#superpowerskill

Baby_Jean

From A Micro Entrepreneur THEN   &

Jean Chow - MsBizWizA Small Entrepreneur NOW

After 10 years #grit in audit #superpowerskill and armed with an accounting diploma #grit and an incomplete final CPA #failure , I left my hometown, Moose Jaw, then Regina and Saskatoon for Zambia #fortune #fun!

Lessons learned from those Audit Years:                      a) how to count cattle #fun ; b) how to count  drums of yellow cake #fear #fun;  c) how to count my lucky stars to be paid handsomely #fortune for an African adventure #fun.

I was a Project Accountant, an aid worker, for 2 years on a wheat research project (how to count seeds, just kidding) and competed as a member of the Zambian Women’s Squash Team #grit #superpowerskills #fun. “Where are you from?” came up often in Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and on the Zambian Copperbelt: Kitwe, Ndola, and Lusaka.  I learned it was much easier to say “Konichiwa” which made everyone was happy.

I left Zambia and saw more of this wide world #fortune #fun : Down Under, Thailand, France, England, France, then landed in Ottawa.  It was time to replenish my “inventory”.  After 18 months of financial analyzing, I could see a new business language emerging.  So I quit #fortune , loaded up my Honda Civic, and drove across Canada #grit #fun to study Mandarin #superpowerskill in Vancouver, a winter with a lot of rain. #grit

Another irresistible offer came along to work overseas, this time across the Pacific in Ujung Pandang, Sulawesi, Indonesia.  Not such a tough choice – starving, not-so-mature student versus handsomely paid adventurer #FailureFollowedByFortune #fun

More lessons learned:  Losing is winning  #FailureFollowedByFortune like losing my toughest squash match in Harare #grit but leaving it my all on the court; losing is winning after marrying someone you’ve outgrown and divorcing quickly, painfully, wisely #FailureFollowedByFortune; losing is winning after left holding the bag as a whistle blower, knowing right from wrong #superpowerskill having to walk away from my home in Indonesia and personal belongings #grit and then being saved one year later by good friends, friends for life #FailureFollowedByFortune

Enter my sweet spot decade – happy days back in Canada and after a short stint as a Director of Finance , I quit to be a – wait for it – Food Entrepreneur  #fun #superpowerskill #grit Talk about making something from scratch.  No cakes, no boeuf bourguignon for me.  I wanted the REAL DEAL.  I wanted to do what I love! #fun I loved to eat great food #fun so why not make a business from scratch? Did it matter that I was not a chef, never sold a thing in my life, no contacts in the food industry?  No! “Know no #fear” became my mantra.

I designed #superpowerskill, developed #superpowerskill, and physically delivered (for a little while) #superpowerskill “Asian Kraft Dinner” as Asian DIY dinner kits (Thai, Indonesian, Japanese, South Asian) which sold across Canada, U.S. and Bermuda for 12 (10 wonderful) years! #FUN #GRIT  All caps, definitely ALL CAPS!

Loads of lessons learned:  I lived in my factory for 4 out of 12 years #grit ; wrestled with uncertainty 24/7 for the entire 12 years #superpowerskill ;  received recognition by the big ones: Bon Appetit and CBS FoodNetwork NYC #superpowerskill #fortune; blind passion can and will kill you… well, almost; unexpectedly we lost 2 major clients so cash flow stopped flowing. At the same time we had to automate production , “go big or go home” so I lost it all and went “home”  #FailureFollowedByFear  I lived with my friends and family in 5 homes for 6 months in 2 different cities, 3,415 km apart; I lived with #humility and #gratitude ; I lived with zero assets+zero liabilities = ZERO for what seemed like a very long time #FailureWithNoFortune #JustPlainFailure

So “now is the time” to adapt, to pivot, to change, to endure, to survive #grit  For the next 10 years,  I worked in big corporate led by small people who MUST hit their “numbers”, I worked in small business led by big people (read “big egos”) who went mad not knowing their “numbers”; I worked in NFPs (aka not-for-profits aka “not for me”) with dedicated people who waste time wrestling with bureaucracy and not having any “numbers”.

Lessons Learned From Lowlights to Highlights:  Nothing can defeat you when you have nowhere to go but up #GRIT; nothing can defeat you when you set aside your pride, learn to lean, and ask (sometimes yell) for help #humility ; nothing can defeat you when you can still give a lot with very little because #gratitude is still gratitude #superpowerskill; nothing can defeat you when you can make a life a “something” out of “nothing” #superpowerskill ,  when you “treat every day like pay day”  with curiosity and wonder #fun #fortune, and when you strive to be kinder each and every day. “My heart has spoken.” #superpowerskill

What’s next?  March #Talk. Stay tuned!