“So you think that you’re a failure, do you? Well, you probably are. What’s wrong with that? In the first place, if you’ve any sense at all you must have learned by now that we pay just as dearly for our triumphs as we do for our defeats. Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with grace, fail with style. A mediocre failure is as insufferable as a mediocre success. Embrace failure! Seek it out. Learn to love it. That may be the only way any of us will ever be free.”
― Tom Robbins
Last week’s chat was all about risks… identifying them, defining them, justifying them, taking them & sharing their burden.
QUESTION #1: What risks do you plan on for 2013?
- byRenae Hmmm I struggle to be ok with NOT being perfect and it’s hard to let that show on the vlog. My risk for 2013 will be to let it show. #omhg
- @sarahpcreative: A big change for me for 2013… I might be relocating to a new place! Scary but exciting! #omhg
- RoriStories taking a major leap of faith with work life this year in order to spend more time with my son. Lots of $ juggling too. #omhg
- Linkouture Risks for the year include (hopefully) doing lots of craft fairs! I only did one last year so we’ll see how inventory supply goes. #omhg
- @IAMTHELAB: My biggest risk is letting my knowledge and voice be heard in a very crowed room. #omhg
- @thepetitcadeau: Im launching my online shop this year! #omhg
- sarahpcreative This year the push for me is on getting the word out about my stationery and paper goods. And I’m learning every single day #omhg
- MarisaEdghill @LoveLeeSoaps I’m a huge culprit of the “if you build it, they will come” complex too. Must do more marketing in 2013! #omhg
- ohmyhandmade Pushing past my dislike of leaving home & risking travel to see if I am resistant because of fear or because I just don’t love it! #omhg
- ThreeBySea I want to push myself to be more of a leader/facilitator- #Project300 was part of that, as is my book idea. #omhg
- katyjoyalice I am restructuring, relaunching, redesigning my little web design biz. #OMHG
- @storyofmum I seem to be pushing myself through a many-directional sieve this year & hoping I dont come out as sausages 😉 #omhg
- TrashN2Tees My 2013 risks include #canadabound2013, closing custom orders, developing patterns, and really pushing the public speaking/workshops #omhg
QUESTION #2: Do you feel like you are held back from taking the risks you want to? What keeps you from leaping?
- ThreeBySea Time (ok, piss poor time management) & lack of “expertise” #omhg
- nisseworks Fear. Disappointing the people around me. #omhg
- Linkouture Learning to take more risks, but fear of rejection sometimes gets in way. Need to build up self-confidence. #omhg
- IAMTHELAB #omhg What holds me back is a touch of fear and my easily distracted mind. Creativity needs to be harness sometimes.
- kdmarsden The need to pay the mortgage! #omhg
- sarahjanesroom At this point, it’s mostly time to focus. I have a hard time working in 30 min pockets. #omhg
- skoopehome what keeps me from leaping is loss of drive. like if something doesn’t work will i want to try it again #omhg
- designcoyote My own fear & guilt hold me back. Fear I won’t make it. Guilt that I will. Both silly, but both real. Trying to get over it. #omhg
- RoriStories the only thing that holds me back now is fear. But I’m plowing ahead anyway! #omhg
- @IAMTHELAB: But once you find your voice, turn up the volume! #omhg
- MarisaEdghill And sometimes what we achieve isn’t our goal but can be better. RT @ohmyhandmade: what is the difference between a failure or success? #omhg
- @IAMTHELAB: Failures and successes both start with trying. The difference is the end result, not the motive. #omhg
- storyofmum @designcoyote @ohmyhandmade @thelanguidlion I always go back to Marianne Williamson when I feel like that (a lot) #omhg http://t.co/1jj5vBrv
- designcoyote Yes! Even if you DO get lost, learn from it, look around, and enjoy the new scenery until you find your path again. #omhg
It seems a lot of us become risk-adverse due to the fear of failure and there were some great shared tips and resources on how to deal with this:
- A quick reminder for all who need a reminder to shine via @designcoyote: http://t.co/b41R8J8e … #omhg
- ohmyhandmade There are so many courses telling us we will succeed if we do this or that but no courses that teach us to succeed at failure-why not! #omhg
- TrashN2Tees how to fail with grace 101 #omhg
- storyofmum Have you seen the Harvard address from JK Rowling? “The fringe benefits of failure”. Perfect. http://t.co/PyubfW4i #omhg
- @ThreeBySea: “Let’s Have Fun Failing: Get over yourself, have fun, & let’s get sh*t done!” #booktowrite #omhg
- ohmyhandmade All of us are just figuring it out as we go along-nobody has all the answers, thankfully we can share experiences & help each other! #omhg
Since Jess is away being her fantastic self on a panel at Alt Summit this week, we’ll be adding the actual transcript when she gets back!
What is #omhg? We are a community of talented, creative and caring people who visit every Thursday on Twitter from 1-2EST with the hashtag #omhg to chat about our monthly theme on Oh My! Handmade + life, business & everything in between. Empowering, honest, supportive & full of ideas, our chats leave us all feeling ready to take on the world-come join us and make some new friends!
Missed the chat? Share your risks and why you’ll be taking them in the comments!
