Don’t Forget To Try

Not trying is the number 1 cause of failure

If you have a great idea or a dream that you want to make a reality, there will always be obstacles in the way. There will be people who discourage you, and problems you need to overcome on your journey.

Some people will show great endurance and keep their heads held high even against the unforgiving wind and rain. Others will stumble and fall into the dirt, then get back up and continue. And some will fall to their knees, realizing that they are moving in the wrong direction, and return home.

All of them, however, have one thing in common: They made the first step.

It is always better to try and fail than to sit idle in the shelter of your home and not even try at all. A lot of people forget this in the most crucial moment of their lives: When they are about to make the important first step.

If you listen to the wrong advice, you will fail before you even start

Especially when we have a new and exciting idea, we try to find approval from the people around us. Someone to pat your back and say “go for it!” But at this stage, we’re also the most vulnerable for misplaced criticism. If you ask your best friend, who only ever tried something risky once and failed, he’ll likely tell you that it’s a stupid idea and that you will fail miserably.

Hearing something like this at this stage can not only be discouraging, it could completely take the wind out of your sail.

So don’t fall for that trap. Don’t let people dictate what you should or should not do. Not even those you idolize. Because in the end, we all make our own journeys and we each live different lives. Most humans are naturally risk-averse and will always pick the safe route over a dangerous and winding path.

But then again, most people are also living average lives, far from the incredible success of those few pioneers. If you listen to those people, you will stay exactly where you are right now, just like they do. If you feel comfortable with less, there’s nothing wrong with that. But some of us want to achieve more. We want to break out of this cycle and achieve a new high.

“If you’re so afraid of failure, you will never succeed. You have to take chances.”

— Mario Andretti

Acting on a single bad idea can still lead you in the right direction. At the very least, it will grant you precious experience. Having ten great ideas and not acting on them, however, will get you exactly nowhere.

Had I listened to the people I thought smarter and more experienced than myself, I’d neither live in Japan right now nor would I be a successful working-from-home dad. Looking back, the only times I ever was proud of myself, the things I managed to do, were the things that I was so passionate about that I dismissed any and all criticism.

I got halfway around the world, I’ve seen almost all of Europe, I found the love of my life, I switched from being an employee to running my own show and earning my income from home, doing what I love. And most important, I’m blessed with the most beautiful daughter I could have ever asked for.

Had I listened to my parents’ advice, I’d have none of that. I love them. But where I am right now, I got all by myself. Against the storm. Against public opinion. By being “stupid and unreasonable”.

Slim chances are still chances, aren’t they?

These negative people, who immediately fear the worst and never try anything, will tell you that your idea, which takes great effort and time with no guaranteed success at the end of that road, must be stupid. And you will hear this opinion from the same people who have burnt money for more than 30 years on buying lottery tickets each week.

They will advise you to stick to your regular, low-paying 9 to 5, fill out your 401k, put a little money on the side, and play the lottery. And I can promise you, in 30 years' time, you will be exactly where you are right now. The only thing you achieved is to waste 30 years of your time. 30 years you will never get back.

When it comes to chances, people are very selective. As you know, the chance of winning the lottery is about 1 in 140 million. Still, they play. Meanwhile, 1 out of 4 car crashes is caused by texting while driving. Still, they stare at their phone on the highway, claiming “that won’t happen to me!”

Listening to those people’s advice when it comes to an idea that may or may not propel you forward is even stupider than to act on the idea.

There is no “low risk, high reward”

Either you take a risk for greater success, or you settle with less. Just look at a few big names. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, George Soros, Warren Buffett. Now you’ll say “those were the lucky few”, right?

What about every entrepreneur, every published author, every full-time blogger, streamer, every artist, every actor, and every CEO to date? Forget about the ones that failed, this is not about whether or not you have a chance to succeed, or how big or slim this chance is. It is about making the first step.

“Don’t let people make you afraid of taking chances in life. And if you fail, it’s no big deal. Get back up and fight through it and be successful again. If you did it once, you can do it again.”

— Ken Shamrock

If you don’t take that first step towards your goal, your chance will always stay at exactly 0.00%. And if you let people talk you out of every idea before you even try, you’ll always be stuck at that 0.00%.

Failure is frightening. Nobody wants to fail, everybody wants to win. But most people are so afraid of losing that they never dare to make that crucial first step out of their comfort zone. If you want to beat the odds, you must challenge them first. What really is there to fear?

Failure? What greater failure could there be than not moving at all?

I see plenty of authors out there, who, after more than 20 years, are still no J.K. Rowling, or J.R.R. Tolkien. But I’ll be honest with you, they all still sound pretty happy to be where they are right now. There are plenty people who call themselves a published author. I’ve never heard anyone calling themselves a failed author though. Those who failed are the ones who never wrote a book in the first place, against their own wishes and dreams.

“It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win.”

— John Paul Jones

Make the first step

Nobody can promise you that you will succeed. Neither can I. But I can promise you that you will never succeed if you don’t take that first step. So please, go out there and just do it.

Write that book. Start day-trading. Buy stocks. Record that song. Start that Youtube channel. Whatever it is that is on your mind, you have to start.

Should you fail, you will have plenty of time to complain about it after you got there. Then pick yourself up, analyze how and why you failed, and try again. Just stay in motion. Keep your momentum. I’m almost certain that you will achieve more than you have right now if you just stay persistent and take your chances.

Even if you don’t become that one famous guy or gal who did it, you will get out there and challenge the world. Who dares, wins. At the very least, you will win a participation award. Which is already more than you have right now.

And finally, I want to quote a line about love, which deals with the exact same problem:

“’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

— Alfred Lord Tennyson

You surely know this quote and agree with it. So tell me, what about taking your chance in life is different from this quote?

Exactly.

Now go make that first step, and I wish you the best of luck and success on your way. Thank you for your time.

If you enjoyed this read, please check my other articles as well. I’d also be happy to connect with you on Twitter: @KBuddaeus