As I think back over the past few years I see just how much I have grown since becoming an online entrepreneur. I was not used to accepting failure in my previous life as a classroom teacher and real estate appraiser. Back then any little setback was devastating to my self-esteem and many times I would just give up. Nowadays I anticipate failure, learn from it, and course correct to keep moving forward. I was reading an excellent post on Geoff Hoff’s site that made me give this more thought.

An example I will share is my reluctance to write. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to write. I can trace this back to grade school, when I wanted to write something for our school’s newspaper. Back then I would allow myself to get discouraged very easily, and when one of the other kids told me my idea for a story was a stupid one, in front of several of my friends, I held back the tears and knew that I would never write that story to see what anyone else thought. This attitude, and lack of confidence, followed me through high school and into college. When one of the instructors said that my writing lacked depth, I dropped the class and gave up my dream of being a writer for good.

When I think back to this time, I see that I wasn’t even taking enough action to fail. Instead, I was giving up before I started. This is inexcusable in my thinking today, when I take every challenge when it comes to writing, and even teach my own students how to get started so that they can achieve the success they want and deserve in their endeavors as online entrepreneurs.

Are you failing on a regular basis? If not, then work harder, take more risks on a daily basis, and stretch outside of your comfort zone as often as possible. My life has changed in amazing ways because of my willingness to make mistakes, take chances that do not work out at all, and implement everything I learn almost immediately. You can change your life, and your bottom line, by embracing failure and making it work for you.