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Been there, done that. You know what? Failure is just an event. Its not you. You havent lost your "touch", because there wasnt one to lose from the start. You j

Been there, done that. You know what? Failure is just an event. Its not you. You havent lost your "touch", because there wasnt one to lose from the start. You just got lucky. It didnt work out. Now, understand that being average is OK, and pretty awesome too. So you didnt hit it big, but you had an average run. You did not become Instagram, but you had average sales. You made average money and had average success. Again, average is awesome. You got further down the line than most other people have (me included). So you failed. Dont obsess about it. Tell your family the company is not working. Dont try an be a hero. Be honest, they appreciate that more (fuck them if the dont). Entrepreneurs have to meet these weird social standards that are never within reach. You think Warren Buffett has ever getting a break? He gets shit every day from deals gone sour. But keep your head up. Failure is not you. You are a person, and you did pretty good. Your investor lost the money the minute he decided to play investor. Doesnt have to do anything with you. If you want to talk about it with someone who fails hard every month, just send me an email (on profile). I wont make this public. Also, dont be ashamed. You got to the NBA, but you were not Michael Jordan. Who cares? I bet you played a good game, and got some good stories from it. Best wishes!

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
zerocool1989 14y ago
I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. -- Michael jordan
tekromancr 14y ago
Nah, man. Only nerds and failures talk like that, brahiem. </s> Wise words indeed. One of the things that has always bugged me about certain portions of the startup culture is that over valuing of 'success'. As far as I am concerned, if you learn something from the experience, you can't fail.
demione 14y ago
I do believe this reply has OP's best intentions in mind, but I find it to be a bit fatalistic. OP may very well have "the touch", it just may be that this particular venture wasn't the right opportunity for that to shine through. My point is, noone can tell you how far you will or will not go in life; a single failure is a data point, sure, but only one among many. If OP wants to go on continue being an entrepreneur, he should learn from his mistakes, dust himself off, and go at it again if he can find the opportunity.
- orangethirty 14y ago
  Thats what I meant, but you put it in a nicer manner. Thanks!
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
prawn 14y ago
A quirky recent story about being honest and accepting what you have accomplished rather than trying to act like you're a basketball bigshot: An American basketball player, having not had much luck with NBA aspirations, took a job in Western Australia, playing for a state league team. These state league clubs have a player budget of about $60,000 spread across a men's team and a women's team - 20 players in total. The league in question is not likely in the top four leagues in Australia. Said player told his hometown paper that he had a three-year deal for $1m, that he was going to be playing in the best league in Australia, that it would be on a tropical island in the West (it's mainland), that he'd get a beachfront 3BR apartment, that the club was flying him and his family the last leg on a private jet (it would've been a bus from Perth) and that his signing made news across Australia (fat chance). His club found out about these claims, learned a bit more about his character besides this, and cut him before he'd played a game.
cousin_it 14y ago
> You havent lost your "touch", because there wasnt one to lose from the start. You just got lucky. Thanks for writing that, it resonated strongly with me for some reason.
- j45 14y ago
  Sometimes we think we have a lot to do with thing going well, or wrong, but the saying of opportunity is a combination of luck and lots of preparation and practice is something I'm finding to be more and more true each year. It's also something I have heard echoed strongly in pg's recent essays on why/how/what to build as a startup.
avalaunch 14y ago
You got to the NBA, but you were not Michael Jordan. Or maybe he is? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc
nitrogen 14y ago
Dead post (curiously, the account is dead with no obvious cause; perhaps it was associated with accounts that were up to no good?) zerocool1989 3 hours ago | link [dead] I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. -- Michael jordan -----
- jagbolanos 14y ago
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc
___1___ 14y ago
> Now, understand that being average is OK, and pretty awesome too. I disagree, anyone who has the balls to start something new, whether they succeed or not, is far from average.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

zerocool1989 14y ago

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. -- Michael jordan

tekromancr 14y ago

Nah, man. Only nerds and failures talk like that, brahiem. </s> Wise words indeed. One of the things that has always bugged me about certain portions of the startup culture is that over valuing of 'success'. As far as I am concerned, if you learn something from the experience, you can't fail.

demione 14y ago

I do believe this reply has OP's best intentions in mind, but I find it to be a bit fatalistic. OP may very well have "the touch", it just may be that this particular venture wasn't the right opportunity for that to shine through. My point is, noone can tell you how far you will or will not go in life; a single failure is a data point, sure, but only one among many. If OP wants to go on continue being an entrepreneur, he should learn from his mistakes, dust himself off, and go at it again if he can find the opportunity.

orangethirty 14y ago
Thats what I meant, but you put it in a nicer manner. Thanks!
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

prawn 14y ago

A quirky recent story about being honest and accepting what you have accomplished rather than trying to act like you're a basketball bigshot: An American basketball player, having not had much luck with NBA aspirations, took a job in Western Australia, playing for a state league team. These state league clubs have a player budget of about $60,000 spread across a men's team and a women's team - 20 players in total. The league in question is not likely in the top four leagues in Australia. Said player told his hometown paper that he had a three-year deal for $1m, that he was going to be playing in the best league in Australia, that it would be on a tropical island in the West (it's mainland), that he'd get a beachfront 3BR apartment, that the club was flying him and his family the last leg on a private jet (it would've been a bus from Perth) and that his signing made news across Australia (fat chance). His club found out about these claims, learned a bit more about his character besides this, and cut him before he'd played a game.

cousin_it 14y ago

> You havent lost your "touch", because there wasnt one to lose from the start. You just got lucky. Thanks for writing that, it resonated strongly with me for some reason.

j45 14y ago
Sometimes we think we have a lot to do with thing going well, or wrong, but the saying of opportunity is a combination of luck and lots of preparation and practice is something I'm finding to be more and more true each year. It's also something I have heard echoed strongly in pg's recent essays on why/how/what to build as a startup.

avalaunch 14y ago

You got to the NBA, but you were not Michael Jordan. Or maybe he is? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc

nitrogen 14y ago

Dead post (curiously, the account is dead with no obvious cause; perhaps it was associated with accounts that were up to no good?) zerocool1989 3 hours ago | link [dead] I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. -- Michael jordan -----

jagbolanos 14y ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc

___1___ 14y ago

> Now, understand that being average is OK, and pretty awesome too. I disagree, anyone who has the balls to start something new, whether they succeed or not, is far from average.