You want your startup to grow. Growth is the primary motivation behind what you’re doing and what you want to accomplish.
But growth is not often possible if we play it too safe. As the saying goes, “If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.” In the case of business, you must be willing to take the big swings – even if you risk missing the ball.
Don’t let Imposter Syndrome hold you back. Many startup managers suffer under the idea that if they don’t feel 100 percent ready, they shouldn’t pitch their ideas to investors or customers. Imposter Syndrome causes us to worry that we aren’t good enough, we haven’t perfected the product, we haven’t worked hard enough, or we otherwise are not deserving of the very accomplishments we seek. Then we fear the painful exposure of possibly overselling an idea that might ultimately fall short.
These are normal emotions. Almost everyone confronts them at some point. Successful people are those who recognized what they were feeling and used it to their advantage. Go ahead and make the big promises; your fear of failure is actually the very thing that can push you to deliver.
Develop a flexible vision of success. Sometimes you might take a swing and miss the ball. But did you learn to reposition yourself, hone your focus, or adjust your swing? Then it’s not truly a “miss.” You learned a valuable lesson that will serve you in the future.
Perhaps you partially meet a goal. In that case, you didn’t “fail,” you just haven’t succeeded yet. Build on the progress of that partial success. Continue working toward your objectives. Maybe the timeline just needs to shift a bit. You’ve still accomplished more than if you had never tried.
And on that note… What is the cost of not even trying? Every time you feel tempted to take a swing but hold back, you surrender another opportunity. That’s why the greatest risk to your growth is you. The good news is, you have complete control over your choices. So take that swing. The more you do, the more you will grow.
