Turn failure into success with this framework

We gain confidence in our abilities not from a SINGLE successful attempt To view this email as a web page, [click here]() Plan for failure with a clear vision of your Rich Life It’s no secret that I went to a public high school — and there were quite a few smart people in my class. So naturally, around application time, most of my friends had their sights on at least one prestigious university. But to my surprise, something incredible happened. The first round of college admissions came in. Some people got in, but predictably, many others didn’t. Here’s the interesting part: Many of the people who didn’t get in changed their attitudes overnight, saying, “Whatever … I didn’t really want to go to that school anyway.” This really surprised me. I remember thinking: “If you didn’t want to go, then why’d you apply? And if you DID want to go, why give up so easily?” Since I had already assumed that I was going to get rejected from my dream school (Stanford), I’d already made plans for what I’d do to get in, despite their rejection. I was going to send them recent updates to my coursework, a few recent press clippings I’d done, and some updates on the business/job I was doing in high school. In short, getting a “no” was only the first step. I call this mental framework “Failure Expectation.” Rather than discouraging me, planning to fail actually INCREASED my confidence tenfold because I knew that if I played out all the contingencies, it was only a matter of time before I got what I wanted. My success wasn’t dependent on luck. I was in control. “Failure Expectation” was a huge, counterintuitive insight for me, and it ended up becoming one of my earliest [Success Triggers](). We gain confidence in our abilities not from a SINGLE successful attempt but from planning ahead of time and executing that plan until we reach our objective. [Going to Stanford was transformative for me] Think of all the things you’ve tried and failed at after a SINGLE attempt. You give yourself so many reasons why it just won’t work: - “It’s not for me” - “I’m too busy” - “It’s too hard” But the reality is simple: When we try something one time and it doesn’t work, we silently retreat. We lose confidence in our abilities and never try again. How many times have you contented yourself with something you knew would be easy because you were too AFRAID to try something new and challenging? What type of amazing, world-changing work would you be doing if you had the mental frameworks to push past your fears and doubts to build rock-solid, unshakable confidence in your abilities? Most of us wouldn’t even recognize ourselves if we could truly realize our potential. What I did was twofold: (1) I built a system, planning for failure … and (2) the confidence I got allowed me to write an even better application. Do you see how you can apply this to your Rich Life? The confidence I had — along with a lot of luck that I partially created — let me control my own destiny. Getting into Stanford isn’t the only place that planning to fail is important. Rejection, failure, and mistakes are part of other areas of life as well. From selling to dating to business — to just about anything. We need to expect failure and plan what we’ll do when rejection comes. For example, at a certain point, it’s OK to waste a little money. In fact, it might actually be a sign that you’re trying enough things. When most people are starting out, they’re super rigid and tight. “I need to account for every penny.” And I get that, because that’s what I did too. But at a certain point you have won the game. It’s okay to loosen up a little bit. And even when you do make mistakes, it’s better to make them early, with a little bit of money, so that when you have more, you know what to avoid. Here’s the takeawayWhen aiming for a large goal — like a college application, new job, or new city — always visualize what would happen if you SUCCEEDED (e.g., get admitted) vs. what would happen if you FAILED (e.g., get rejected). Do this before you get the results, which is an emotional time. I saw people throw away their dream school simply because they got rejected. Read that last sentence again. Doesn’t it sound ridiculous? OF COURSE you give up when you get rejected. Well, sometimes it’s true, and society certainly tells us to suck it up and move on. But if you plan ahead for what you’ll do if you succeed or fail — it will help you stay focused when times get tough. If you want to ACTUALLY achieve something great, treat rejection as a normal step in the process. Expect it. Manage it. Take action. The next time you get shot down, remember that means you’re just getting started. We all face a fear of failure. It’s how you manage the fear of failure that determines your success. What is and is not a Rich Life? You can’t avoid every failure or mistake. But you can define your Rich Life vision so that you can avoid [Rich Life Traps](). One of the ways to do this is by knowing what is and is not your Rich Life. [My students have a wide variety of Rich Lives] My students have a wide variety of Rich Lives. What’s yours? I’ve created a fast and fun way to figure that out in my How to Design Your Rich Life mini-course. If you haven’t taken it yet, [click here]() to take it today! [Signature] WHAT TO DO NEXT APPLY: Are you maniacal about clean code? Does scalable architecture make your heart sing? Do you want to solve complex problems with crazy smart people in a 100% remote environment? If so, you might be the perfect fit for our open IT Lead position! [Apply here](). 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