I Failed

Dear Blurbarians,

Welcome to issue #4 - Today’s newsletter is all about failure, and that’s why today we’ll be looking at the key insights from “Fail Fast, Fail Often” by John D. Krumboltz and Ryan Babineaux.

I’ll also talk about my previous failures - why I think I failed, and how I’ve changed things around.

“Fail Fast, Fail Often” by John Krumboltz & Ryan Babineaux”

1. Failure is Feedback, Not Defeat
   Mistakes aren’t setbacks, they’re data. Every failure helps you learn what doesn’t work so you can find what does.

2. Action Beats Overthinking
   Waiting for the perfect moment or plan often leads to inaction. Taking imperfect steps forward creates momentum.

3. Curiosity Over Clarity

   You don’t need to know exactly where you’re going. Let curiosity guide you, and the clarity will come as you explore.

4. Experiment, Don’t Commit Too Early

   Test small ideas before locking into big life decisions. Treat your career and goals like a series of experiments.

5. The Best Time to Start Is Now

   The path is made by walking it. Start before you feel “ready” and let the doing shape your direction.

Idea Of The Week

• As the subject of this email suggests; “I failed”, not once, not twice, but multiple times. I’ve been trying to “side hustle” since I can remember, and none of my ideas worked as I thought they would.

• Failure 1: Amazon FBA

  • During the pandemic Amazon was a gold rush. So, naively I jumped on the bandwagon. I invested in a course, shipped Yoga Mats from China, and started my FBA journey.

  • What I quickly realized was it wasn’t as easy as the online gurus promised. Luckily I realized this pretty early on, so I cut my losses and walked away around $4-5k down.

  • I did this with a friend so the loss didn’t hurt as bad, but I won’t lie the feeling of failure still hurt.

• Failure 2: Etsy Shop / Dropshipping

  • After Amazon, I started chasing the next shinny thing. Selling templates on Etsy and dabbling with “Print on Demand” which is a form of dropshipping.

  • I saw some success early on, but this was mainly down to running ads. When the ads stopped, so did the revenue.

  • Whilst the Revenue looked okay, the margins were so low (often negative) that it was no longer worth my time.

• Failure 3 & 4 - Instagram & Writing on Medium

  • I also dabbled with a quotes page on Instagram and wrote briefly on Medium.

  • Whist these failed to gain much traction, I did realize one thing. It was these pursuits that I enjoyed the most, i.e. creating content, on topics I was interested in.

Lessons Learnt From My Failures

• Lesson 1 - I was chasing the wrong thing: I was obsessed with the final outcome (money) and not the process. In all honestly I didn’t care about Yoga Mats or the random digital products I was selling e.g. Birthday Invites & so on (and sure some of you may think I picked really bad products, which I accept too).

• Lesson 2 - If you enjoy what you do, the external metrics won’t hurt or matter as much. But when the only driver is external validation, then the odds are already stacked against you.

• Lesson 3 - Solve a genuine problem, don’t just chase a business model. The starting point should always be; does this solve a genuine problem and can I add value, based on my knowledge and skill set. If the answer is no, then rethink your pursuit.

What Finally Worked

• YouTube

  • It was because of the 3 lessons above I decided to stay consistent with YouTube for almost 2 years, without earning a single penny.

  • And sure my videos don’t get crazy views, and I ain’t making millions like other YouTubers.

  • However, because I enjoy the process, I have stuck with it for this long, and will continue too, as internal validation is now my driver.

  • I started to obsess over the process, and not the outcome. My only focus now is what are the daily habits that will keep me consistent and maintain my momentum.

  • A concept known as “KAIZEN” in Japanese Philosophy - the small, continuous improvement, that gets you closer to your goal over the long run.

  • So now the only thing I track are my daily actions and habits. I’ve been doing this since 2024, and I’m in the best shape of my life, finally earning money from the internet, and overall life is pretty good right now. All because I started tracking my habits.

  • I track everything on pen and paper, and then transfer it to Google Sheets, so I can keep a log of my progress.

  • If you want to do the same, check out my tracker and use the code KAIZEN25 - for 25% off - https://payhip.com/theblurb