Failure, retrospectively

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default. J. K. Rowling

What is the biggest enemy to entrepreneurship?

Failure?

Fear of failure?

Fear?

FACT1: We like to read bios of great Celebs, Presidents, Successful Business Moguls, Sportsmen/women, even if these stories are full of failures or trials and misses.

FACT2: Those who have failed TOTALLY, have no audience PERIOD.

Retrospection, healing, forgetting; ad infinitum; as we coin new words that express the same thought, are words that serve to bring us back to reality and appreciation that life should be taken with a more relaxed attitude.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.” ― Bernard M. Baruch

Failures

I know of the following people who were failures, at some point in their lives, but not anymore as they broke free of the group bondage!

Albert Einstein, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Barrack Obama, Jack Ma, Bill Gates & Paul Allen, Walt Disney, Warren Buffet, Henry Ford, Michael Jordan, The Beatles, etc;

The list goes on and may as well include you and I, in fact it will, since we have also failed before. So, it's a high time we started collecting stories about the failures of successful people, as a reminder that if we're making mistakes, and learning from them, we may actually be on the path to success.

FACT3: One break from the crowd, will set us apart and assign us a near-legend status.

So, what was your answer to the initial question on the biggest enemy of Development?

Nobody cares to know so long as you have analysed the question cryptically and answered appropriately, for therein lies your break from the crowd. It has oft been said that in real sense, there is nothing new under the sun, and we are all under the sun. Any presumed 'newness' is just a variation of the detail to create an illusive originality whereas actually none exists save for the aura of sophistication.

Fitting in

I have news for us.

There is an even bigger enemy to development and, guess what? It is trying to fit in everywhere we find ourselves, whether by choice or default. We crave being accepted within whichever group we find ourselves in. When we stick out like a sore thumb, by being different, we become outcasts, shunned for being ourselves, and yet it is the different ones that ultimately make a difference. It is in making the difference that we get accepted, in retrospect.

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” ― Rob Siltanen

Since I am still considered a failure, I cannot start to wallow in my expected success until the gallery sees it and retrospectively starts to learn more about me. A word of encouragement, whatever it is that pre-occupies you with the conviction that it will be a success, be at it with your all for it shall surely be as you surmise. The internet is here and we can make it work for us instead of allowing it to enslave us with the plethora social media available. Let us use it for trading and disrupt the status quo.

Sample disruptive success stories

UBER TAXI.... the only taxi operator available in over 56 countries without a single vehicle or driver yet it continues to grow, confounding friend and foe. Like is or not, UBER is here to stay. Right now they are making forays into the driver-less car industry. In some Countries like UAE, UBER has made forays into the Helicopter taxi space for the high and mighty. Disruptive? Yes!

Amazon... biggest retailer without a single warehouse with a $48B yearly revenue and counting!

Facebook....biggest instant post office portal that delivers mails, photos and ideas without a single brick n mortar post office. When was the last time you sent a letter by post?

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ― H. Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I Love You

What is your speciality? Do you just want to ride on others' ideas or do you have any originals worth failing on until you hit the success button?

These are the stories of our times which may confound future generations or simply make them wonder how we managed not to self-destruct with our, then, rudimentary technologies which we now consider top-notch.

For me the greatest deterrent to entrepreneurship is FEAR. Fear of failure, Fear of appearing foolish, Fear of being laughed at, Fear of being out of sync. I have decided that whatever type of fear presented to me will not check my progress and prospecting. This, to me is the material from which greatness is made.

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

As those of the bar variety are won't to ask, what is your poison, so I ask, what is yours? Are you still afraid to break out of the group mould an due your real self?

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” ― Mae West

What is your Persian Gulf that needs reclamation to expand the horizons? The World, as it is, has no bounds other than those we create ourselves.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde