Changing is Tough - Learn to Bounce
First, I read this article about living a resilient life. It was moving because I resonate with it so strongly. Kelly at StartupPrincess (for women entrepreneurs) interviewed Barry Moltz about his book Bounce. Her questions are poignant for entrepreneurs especially. You should read the whole thing.
I must quote a part:
“Let go of the idea that something to learn comes from failure or that you can always duplicate your success. Let go of the shame of losing and the enlarged ego that comes with a big win.
If we let go of whatever the last result was — we can actually Bounce! We can learn what — if any thing — from the last success or failure and get ready by bouncing to the next action that we need to make.
Individually, a particular result or outcome actually means nothing. No event will guarantee the same result in the future. By learning to bounce through this repetitive process of “success and failure, failure and success”, you will develop a resiliency that will lead to the true confidence that ultimately determines which ones of us succeed. More importantly, it allows each of us to have passion and enthusiasm regardless of where we are in the cycle.”
This sounds a bit pie-in-the-sky in most business climates. But in life it’s crucial and business of course, is part of life. I read with sadness about Paul Tilley’s suicide. I don’t know the conditions or reasons but obviously there isn’t this concept of bounce.
Chris Anderson talked bravely at Ted about how his business crashing. Terrifyingly so. He said, “I saw my own net worth falling by about a million dollars a day - every day - for 18 months.” Then described his bounce back. This inspires me. And funny enough Martha Stewart is my favorite example, making beauty out of weeds while she was in prison. I look to her and think anyone can overcome bad choices, bad circumstances, and bad luck. Then there is Brittney Spear who drowns in it all.
Then I read this NY Times article about how we hate to change. “Closing a door on an option is experienced as a loss, and people are willing to pay a price to avoid the emotion of loss,” writes John Tierney.
My conclusion is learning this resiliency is crucial in what Stephen MR Covey calls a “double black diamond world.” It’s especially important as entire industries are changing because of the internet (which Seth Godin describes so well in posts like this). The internet both expands and contracts things. It topples business models when someone can come in and change your entire way of making money. It’s both exciting and at times sobering.
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One Response to “Changing is Tough - Learn to Bounce”
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February 27th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I couldn’t agree more with this post! Particularly the quote, “Closing a door on an option is experienced as a loss, and people are willing to pay a price to avoid the emotion of loss.”
I am just wondering if this will be the case with our good friend Renee =). ~Paul