The Failure That Shaped My Approach to Success

Not all weeks are the same. Some are busy, some are slow, some are fun and others are mundane. My favourite weeks are the successful ones. What do I mean by successful? Well, we all enjoy success. Defining success is hard, it’s different for everyone. I find success in many ways. Gaining it through work is one of my favourite approaches.
Since work is something we can’t avoid and have to do, why not use work to increase success both for you yourself and your clients and customers. Success is many ways is a pathway to happiness. Who doesn’t want that right?
A big part of Stealth Design is offering success for my clients; mostly achieved through forms of visual communication. It’s a pleasure to be able to compile years of knowledge and unload it into a project. The results speak for themselves when I can actively take the reigns and share my thoughts and wisdom to clients who have real problems to solve. I like solving problems.
For those who don’t know, when reflecting upon my journey, Stealth has evolved and transformed significantly over the years. Out of the gate I was fortunate enough to score a job (that I was completely unqualified for) creating designs for a brand that I truly loved and subsequently was directly involved in an existing hobby of mine. This hobby has actually eventuated to become potentially my most favourite hobby – driving, tinkering and enjoying performance cars. Yes, I’m a rev-head at heart.
Stealth was born out of necessity; the initial out-of-the-gate dream job was soon to be a failing one. This business was on a downward spiral. It wasn’t run efficiently (or ethically) and before long closed completely. I felt sorry for the owner. He tried hard. He had the ideas, he had the motivation books on the shelf, a subscription to Money Magazine, the premises, the people, the fan base – everything. So why did it fail?
Honestly, I was too young to remember exactly, but I do remember his face, the face when he had to admit that it was failing. The face he had when he learnt that I had just gotten a loan for a car a few months earlier that he knew I wouldn’t be able to afford soon. The face he had when he had to return computers on lease, sell his own car and trade equipment to staff instead of pay them their wage. It wasn’t nice. While he saved face for a while, I could see in his eyes that things weren’t perfect.
All of us loved the brand. We loved working there. We had a creative bond between us, and each staff member wanted this thing to work. I remember being mad at the owner, he let me down, he let “us” down…
Looking back now (12+ years ago)… He had a team of young and enthusiastic advocates on his side with a fanbase ready and willing to buy. He had a share of the market that was unchallenged and virtually unrivalled. This is hard to find in the modern world and if the same opportunities arise today it’s almost a guaranteed win. We are more connected than ever and are overloaded with ideas, opinions, choices, and options plus a whole new digital world ready to be used in it’s full capacity.
I could solve his problems now. I couldn’t then, but I could now.
The owner would have been my age now back then. I guess you could argue that I experienced the failure of his business as though it was my own, maybe not to the same degree as him but a failing none the less.
I never wanted to experience that feeling again but at the same time, I didn’t fear it. Then it occurred to me… he had missed out on some vital “experience” that would have allowed him to pick up the business and move in a direction aimed for success.
The gift of experience is so underrated. Experience can’t be taught. By the very definition of it’s name you need to “experience” experience. There isn’t a substitute. Simply doing something results in experience – good and bad.
At Stealth, experience is but only one of the many things brought to the table when engaged in any project. Fast forward to now and I realise how many trials and tribulations I have pushed through – in both business and personal life. It’s the experience, lessons learnt and effective strategies created that bring on success.
How’s your business going? What problems do you have? It’s time for you to succeed.
Let’s chat…