Not every enterprise is meant to succeed. One of the unspoken truths about becoming an entrepreneur is that
failure is a core part of the experience of striking out on one’s own. Each year, about 6 million new businesses launch new enterprises and in just a few years, half of them are history. When we talk about entrepreneurship, the authentic emotions of pain and shame that arise from failure are only discussed in passing as a learning experience in the wake of subsequent success. We cheer on the launch of a startup business but we leave the element of failure undiscussed until the entrepreneur has proven their mettle with another successful venture. Then, that failure becomes part of the entrepreneur’s creation myth and championed as just another part of the journey that made them the success they are today. In point of fact, failure is something that should be faced when it actually happens so that its lessons can make a more immediate impact on where we are today.