There is no failure, except no longer trying

I can’t really remember how many times I have talked with people that have said “no. It did not work out”. This goes for all kinds of situations.

Like: Are you running that delivery service still? Answer: No. It did not really work out.

I have always lived by the idea that there is no failure, except no longer trying.

But, it does not mean that if you just keep trying knocking your head against the wall – it will eventually fall. It means that if you can’t tear down the wall by knocking your head in to it, you will have to step back, and look around you for another solution.

I used to be very single-minded in my youth. I did not look for alternative ways of solving a problem, so the result was that I simply gave up. I stopped trying.

A big part of the reason that I gave up easily, was that I had a very good safety network around me. I grew up in Norway with the best social system in the world. Although it’s great with a good safety net, it also gives you a feeling that it’s not so important if you fail. You always have the social services that will help you.

I needed to commit to succeeding, so I did a leap of faith. I cut all safety nets, and moved to Poland. Just so I would know – that this is success or get broken. There is nothing in between.

I basically moved to Poland having one single client that we could invoice for their positions in Google.no. Of course this was not even enough to cover the basic expenses of living. So I started calling around to my connections and basically begged them to believe in me and let us show them what a top 5 position in Google would mean for their business.

I got another two or three clients. It was enough to barely survive. But we kept trying.

Today, I can look back at this time, and when I read the saying “There is no failure, except trying” – I can say with confidence – YES. This it true.

Do you have any good examples to share about this saying – or other sayings that really makes sense to you?

Last Updated on October 24, 2020 by Bjorn Solstad

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