Comments on: Don’t Embrace Failure (Embrace Discomfort Instead)

By: Lucas

Lucas — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 09:33:35 +0000

Great job making that distinction between failure and discomfort!

Kelly Slater, the great 11-time surfing world champion, has said that due to unfortunate circumstances earlier in his life, he had to be in many uncomfortable situations growing up. That allowed him to feel comfortable in waves of consequence such as pipeline under the pressure of championship surfing and come out on top.

Example 5 sounds more like a barter than a discount. Still uncomfortable to ask for it, especially from an established business.

By: James Murphy

James Murphy — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 23:24:18 +0000

I find a similar situation with feedback in the workplace. People often say, “well, I didn’t want to make things uncomfortable- so I didn’t tell her.” I call them little dips. You have to dip down and endure the discomfort to get to a better place. A better working dynamic. And usually, it’s not nearly as terrifying as it seemed!

Great post, Alex.

By: Sasha Nazaruk

Sasha Nazaruk — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 08:25:01 +0000

Most of your articles are really good, but there are articles that almost bring be to tears. This is one of those articles; it’s amazing and so 110% true. Thank you.

By: Jeff Hall

Jeff Hall — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 06:13:48 +0000

Great insight Alex, really! I’m up to taking your challenge and becoming comfortable with discomfort. All the best!

By: benberkowitz

benberkowitz — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 01:38:20 +0000

A few weeks ago at the skateboard park a little girl asked me how, “I got so good.”
I responded with, “Practice.” and then stopped and thought for a sec and uttered proudly, “…and Boo-Boos.”

I thought about this for a while after and in retrospect it felt like the right answer for a teaching moment. It also dawned on me that it was tantamount to my experience as a founder. Good skateboarders, good founders and anybody who’s good at anything else practice what they are good at relentlessly while taking a beating. When they fail at something or get so hurt that they can’t do it anymore they cease to be good at it. The key is to be willing to take only those beatings that will make you better in the future and avoid at all costs the one’s that will stop you from ever getting there.

Anyways, I made a t-shirt stating as much and it’s available on teespring for the next week: http://teespring.com/practice-boo-boos

By: Drikus Botha

Drikus Botha — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 18:14:05 +0000

I’m so glad to hear that these small discomforts helped you develop a thick skin otherwise we might never have seen any of your articles and that would be very dis-comfortable for me 🙂

By: Patrick Carmitchel

Patrick Carmitchel — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 17:15:44 +0000

High five, Alex. Discomfort really is a mental, muscle, one that requires working out. I still feel the pain, but just like any other muscle it’s gotten stronger over time. For those of us with a family to support, the other great fear is failure to provide. The coffee test won’t solve that, but asking for support from your community (family & friends), will help.

By: caruizdiaz

caruizdiaz — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 16:22:29 +0000

Alex, I’ve been reading every entry of your blog since I first discovered it a few months ago, so, let me practice this selling thing with you:

Can I get your feedback on my product, not an idea, an actual product that we are about to launch? I just a need a yes/no/maybe from a person that has actually been where I’m heading 🙂

By: ctbtj

ctbtj — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 15:30:27 +0000

Really helpful post, thanks!

By: Jonathan Godwin

Jonathan Godwin — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 15:17:13 +0000

Finally. Thank you so much for this post. I am tired of the saturation of “glorify failure” posts. They’re everywhere, and I’ve always said that those are the people who can afford to fail. The typical client we see doesn’t have that luxury. Your post makes it clear what everyone is really afraid of, and I think you’re spot-on. Keep up the good work!

By: tim logie

tim logie — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 14:49:23 +0000

Thanks Alex, I like the way you think. There is a fine line or liquid line if you will that needs to keep moving because some experience with failure is a good thing but as you say, too much is dangerous. Fail quickly and get comfortable with discomfort, I like that and can embrace that. Thanks you just motivated me today! I am a relatively new reader and I am quite enjoying your content, keep up the good work!