I left my microphone on while I went to the bathroom.

The first invoice I ever sent out, I forgot to include my payment details. 

My first “employee” was someone I made up (Sally from Accounts) because I was too scared to chase up on overdue bills “myself”. 

I once went to the toilet with my speaking microphone accidentally turned on. Yes, the audience heard everything. 

My first newsletter ‘list’ consisted of me physically typing all of my contacts into the bcc field of my email (I’d heard of Mailchimp but had no idea what it was). Time consuming, not to mention illegal. 

My Dad took me to the first speech I ever gave. Even though I was booked for 60 minutes, I got scared, mumbled through some nonsense for 5 mins before fleeing from the stage (and when I say fleeing, I mean, I ran. I physically RAN from the stage).

I was a finalist for a prestigious award (NSW Premier’s Women of the Year) and the invite said the event was at Parliament House. So, I booked accommodation and flights to Canberra. Turns out the NSW Awards were in the Parliament House located in, as the name would suggest, Sydney, NEW SOUTH WALES. I wandered around Parliament House in Canberra for an HOUR before I figured it out. 

I had to fire the first two people that ever worked for me (I was a bad manager, and didn't pick the right people for the right job).

I didn't realise I had to set aside the GST portion I was adding to invoices and as a result, owed the tax office a massive amount of money. Yes, it's been paid now.

Why would I share this list of business f*ck ups?

Well, it’s January. And, hopefully, you have some big goals mapped out.

Maybe you have some big plans in place for your business (or maybe you want to start your own business!).

And maybe you’re feeling a bit scared about how it’s all gonna pan out.

Maybe you’re afraid you’re gonna stuff it all up.

I’m here to say this:

Maybe you will! And maybe that’s OK.

Here’s the thing:

Everyone makes mistakes.

Even the world’s most game changing and influential business people - Marie Forleo, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce, Turia Pitt (I’m kidding, I’m obviously just the most successful ) make mistakes.

In fact, making mistakes is part of the deal. 

Because the fact that you’ve made a mistake means that you’re trying. You’re ambitious. You’ve got goals. That’s something to celebrate!

And most mistakes? Well, one day they’ll make great stories for a newsletter 

Go big this year. Don’t worry about stuffing up.

Have a go.

And I promise I’ll share everything I can to help you get where you wanna go …. starting with something really exciting that I’m launching with Marie Forleo and B-School in February.

And at the very least, I promise I’ll have a chuckle when you share your own mistakes in a newsletter a few years down the track.

Turia xx

PS - Would you do me a favour? Please share your most embarrassing mistake (business or otherwise) in the comments on the blog. I’d love to know I’m not the only one who’s ever had a fake employee 

PPS - Marie Forleo's B-School legitimately changed the game for my business. For real. I wouldn't be where I am today without it. I'll be working with Marie on this round of B-School, so if you wanna learn more about what B-School is and how you can jump into it with me this Feb, send me a message! I'll send you some more info x

Turia Pitt is a mindset coach, international keynote speaker, humanitarian and athlete. She is the author of ‘Unmasked’, ‘Everything to Live For’, ‘Mindset Magic’ and ‘Good Selfie’. Follow Turia on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or subscribe to her weekly newsletter here.