Not an option

Failure

TLDR: When your mindset is that failure is not an option you’ll increase your odds of success.

This idea of “you have to believe that failure is not an option” has come up a lot in recent weeks.

First from Antler’s founder, during our NYC residency kick-off last week.

And then again, but perhaps more indirectly, from our fundraising coach on what it mean to be world-class in a post here.

It reminded me of my high school baseball team.

We routinely said things to each other like…

• How do you want to remember this season in 20 years?

• There is no team that has outworked us or deserves this more than us

• If it’s to be, it’s up to me

• Anything less than a championship would be a failure, and that won’t happen

We won the first championship for the school in 18 years, two more titles consecutively after that while I played, and the team went on to be something of a dynasty after our class graduated too.

Perhaps there is some Pygmalion Effect at play, but I think there are two other realities of the winner’s mindset happening here too.

The first is the game of inches.

When failure is not an option, you respect the details. You try in every moment to make the most of what you’re doing. In baseball, that was developing an IQ for the game on everything from pitch selection to play calling. In sales it’s thoughtful and concise follow-up and the project managing your deals. And in being a founder, it’s staying focused—making the most of your time and money every single moment.

The second is the energy reserve.

When failure is not an option, you never run out of energy. You expect it will be hard. You expect there will be setbacks and strikeouts. You expect turbulence, so you don’t let it shake you. Or in the founder’s case, you expect you will be told no. That’s part of the process, but it’s not a failure when your goal is larger than the moment itself. There’s always another customer, another investor, and another tweak to the solution or problem space that can unlock you, and going into something with the mindset that failure is not an option will always leave you with more in the tank.

See you Monday.