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Don't be afraid to fail



Success often comes on the heels of failure

Don't be afraid to fail


So my big Bitcoin secret is that I bought ten coins at $100. And then proceeded to sell them at $1000. Yeah, pulled the trigger a little too early on that.

I also started a company back in 2005 that allowed you to choose your seat-mate BEFORE you got on the airplane. Again, I was too early - It got acquired by a VC firm who promptly shut it down. Had I done it ten years later, I would have backed it up into FB and Expedia's front ends, and made a billion dollars. Oh well.

And of course, no one can forget when I was 15, and told my dad about a company going public called Acclaim, they made these things called "video games," and my dad told me I had no idea what I was talking about and didn't invest. Oh well.

But then I had HARO. I also had my Titanic T-shirt idea. I got in on the ground floor of LTC, as well as some other smart ideas.

My point is, I've had several wins and several losses. But in the end, everything happened for two reasons: I listened, and I wasn't afraid to try.


Anyone who says "Oh, I missed out on," usually did so not because they missed out on it, but because they were afraid of what would happen if it failed. Well, chances are, if it failed, you'd be in the same place you were, maybe just a few bucks less in your pocket. But what if it succeeded?

Don't worry about having a backup plan for when you fail. Have a backup plan for when you succeed. Have a backup plan for when your new thing is featured on CNN and you have to ship a million items. Have a backup plan for when you go viral.

More importantly, don't ever stop listening. Listen to EVERYTHING. You never know where the next big idea is going to come from. Your barber. The guy next to you on the airplane. A friend on LinkedIn you haven't spoken to in forever.

Keep your comms channels open at all times. Be receptive to everything. And when something looks good to you, give it a shot. You never, ever know.

Keep your ears open. The next "big thing" could be waiting for you. All you have to do is listen.

That's my advice to you this morning. Have a great week, friends. :)
-Peter

PS: Here's something you might not know: I made my own NFT. A hundred of them, in fact. 67 left. They're actually selling! Crazy, huh? Why not buy one? It's only 12 $SHANKs!

Peter Shankman is an entrepreneur, an author and a trainer living in New York City. He is a stay at home dad as well. Check out his blog.




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