Crashes are good for us

A big Thank You to Matthew Goldfarb who provided the following guest post:

My main job consists of a few key things (ignoring the whole marketing and finding new clients piece of the game).

1) Writing copy for Clients
2) Helping others to get better at writing their own copy

That’s the big picture at least.
Simple enough, right?

Most of the time, I do these tasks well. Sometimes I fail. Today I failed. Badly. Someone paid me money to come up with an idea and the idea just didn’t happen.

You’d think I’d be pissed about this. And you think the last thing I would want to do is tell YOU, my clients or potential clients that this has happened. Maybe it’s a dumb move. Luckily I adhere to the 37 methods of transparency:

#1 Publicize Your Screw ups
If something goes wrong, tell people. Even if they never saw it in the first place.

I would like to think of this as showing you that I work the creative process the same way you do: one idea at a time. And it’s most definitely NOT an exact science.

Do The Work – Don’t you love that?

Most of us are afraid to not do well. We expect to hit it out of the park EVERY time. We have also trained clients to believe that success is guaranteed EVERY time. That hiring us is the prayer to all of their answers. And that somehow, if we don’t hit a home run every time, we have failed. We are big stinking failures and we have lost the magic stuff.

What most of us fail to see is precisely what Pressfield is saying. That those failures, those “crashes”, are actually gifts. They are an indicator that we have work to do. That we have knowledge and experience to gain.

Ironically, as I read this book, I’m also reading a book on writing. Why? Because I always want to hone my own skill. And I believe the education never stops. And a crash is the universe telling you it’s time to hit the books, gyms, kitchen, laptop…anything but the showers (the showers in this metaphor is equal to quitting.)

I truly believe that the risk of being a creative person is that there is no guarantee that the stuff will be there tomorrow.

We are one crash away from feeling as though it’s time to quit our business. But really, it’s just fear talking.

So if you’re in the middle of a crash, experienced a crash, or fear the impending crash: Make sure you see that your crash is not an excuse to quit. Or not try. Or give up for fear you might crash at some potential point in the future.

I hate to be cliche’, but Babe Ruth hit the most home runs in his day because he went for it more than any other player on the field (he also struck out more than anyone).

Now if you are wondering…when I personally crash, the game is not over for me (It might be temporarily for an hour, a day or a week, but never permanently). When I fail to meet my own expectations (as was the case today), my own standards are such that I try to make good so that I can sleep at night. Sometimes it’s not there, and sometimes projects end without a client getting what they want. But I always continue to try.

I read an article by Jason Freedman from humbledMBA.com, who said the number 1 defining characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is this: They bounce back.

So even if you hit a crash remember: We always have to try. We always have to learn from what didn’t go well. We always have to try at least one more time.

Matthew Goldfarb is the lead copywriter and Chief Renegade Officer of Corporate Renegade. With over 10 years working for New York City Ad agencies, Matthew has created award winning campaigns for Volvo, Subaru, Viagra, Dove, Discover, and more. In 2009, he started Corporate Renegade as his way of leveling the playing field for small business owners and entrepreneurs. His company creates breakthrough copy and marketing messages for his private clients, plus teaches classes on how to create website content, write sales pages, and find your unique movement, which ultimately leads to higher visibility and more clients. You can find Matthew at www.corporaterenegade.com