How To Overcome The Fear Of Failure: Living In Permanent Beta
The fear of failure is not talked about much, but it is something that is very real.
For some of us, we grew up in cultures of perfection where we only pure, untainted success will do. To retain your reputation as an achiever, you must reach every goal and never, ever make a visible mistake.
For that very reason, we stick to the tried and tested model, even though it’s not always the best available option for us. It becomes the default option that we take everyday of our lives, and before we know it, the only way we know how to live.
What if there was an alternative to this mode of living?
Permanent Beta
In the technology world, there are few more connected and active than Reid Hoffman.
Having been executive vice president of Paypal and co-founder of LinkedIn, Hoffman has an idea of how we can overcome our fear of failure. In his book, The Startup of You, Reid Hoffman urges people to be in a state of “permanent beta”.
To the uninitiated, beta refers to a stage in development where the product is being tested through constant experimentation and usage. During this stage, an imperfect product is released to a select group of testers in order to receive feedback. This way, bugs — problems with certain features — can be quickly surfaced and worked on. Only after most errors are resolved is the final product released for general use and considered complete.
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas Edison
When we approach life in the framework of permanent beta, failure is not something that we have to avoid. Rather, it is part of the process. Every failure and setback during this period of beta is immediate feedback of what’s working and what’s not. There is nothing to fear about failure because it is not an indictment on our capability and potential — it is simply an evaluation of our progress.
It’s not easy to discard the security of perfection. Doing so opens ourselves to criticism and rejection. However, this seemingly lopsided exchange is another trade of short term pain for long term gain. We accomplish more in a year living vulnerably than we would in ten years living cautiously. We keep failing forward.
The best start-ups often release their product, even though imperfect, for beta testing to improve quickly. Even then, development takes far longer than expected. Gmail, for example, launched in 2004 but only left official beta in 2009, even though millions of people were already using it.
If Google can spend five years experimenting a product that constitutes zero to a negligible percentage of their revenue, you can spend your entire lifetime experimenting on something far more important — you.
“We are at our most alert when we are in danger of failing. The greatest growth comes from being alert, scared, and striving.” — Dan Sullivan
An Experiment In Learning
Failing forward means putting out work that isn’t perfect. Your aim isn’t to produce the Mona Lisa; rather you want to just ship a minimal viable product and get started. You aren’t afraid of failing because you know it is not your magnum opus — there is more to you than that.
Start a side hustle or pet project. That allows you to explore something that you normally wouldn’t do. It’s also not a radical change, which allows you to sustain your interest without being overwhelmed by practical concerns. Beyond the skills you learn, you’ll also overcome the fear of failure since you are thrown into the deep end of the pool. You’ll eventually learn to tread water with your constant struggling.
Writing is my personal pet project. Through it, I can document the challenges that I face. I can journal my learning and personal growth. It is not on the level of Tolstoy, nor is it Hemingway-esque. It does however, serve its purpose of allowing me to create something that is unique to me and helps me grow by forcing myself out of my comfort zone. Most importantly, it is an act of creation and not just one of consumption.
Work In Progress
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, concludes every annual letter to shareholders by reminding readers, as he did in his first annual letter in 1997, that “it’s still Day 1” of the internet and of Amazon.com.
In the same vein, we should all be allowing ourselves to be a work in progress. Keeping yourself in permanent beta forces you to acknowledge that you have bugs, that there’s always something to learn, that you will need to adapt and evolve. It is a lifelong commitment to continuous personal and professional growth.
For entrepreneurs, “finished” is an F-word, because they know that great companies are always evolving. “Finished” ought to be an F-word for all of us. Because when it comes to life, we are all works in progress.
Call To Action
If you want to live more productively and purposefully, grab The Productivity Manifesto, where I distill the principles behind being more effective and efficient. It’s completely free.
