I Failed 9 Times In A Row
The speaker reflects on experiencing nine consecutive business failures, describing the emotional pain of repeated failure while others say 'I told you so.' Despite this, they maintain that naysayers are only temporarily right.
Summary
The speaker opens by recounting a deeply personal journey of entrepreneurial struggle, having gone through nine failed businesses in a row. Each attempt came with renewed hope and conviction — 'this one will be different,' 'this is the one' — only to end in failure again. The speaker emphasizes the psychological and emotional toll of this cycle, describing it as 'painful as hell.' A significant part of this pain comes from the social dimension: being surrounded by people who doubted them and repeatedly said 'I told you so' after each failure. However, the speaker closes with a defiant and forward-looking perspective, acknowledging that while the skeptics were right in the moment, their correctness is not permanent — implying that eventual success reframes the entire narrative of repeated failure.
Key Insights
- The speaker claims to have failed in nine consecutive businesses before finding any meaningful success, framing each failure as a distinct and painful experience rather than a blur.
- The speaker describes a recurring psychological pattern of renewed optimism before each venture — believing each new attempt would be 'the one' — only to be disappointed again.
- The speaker argues that the pain of repeated failure is compounded significantly by the social environment, specifically by people around them validating their doubts with 'I told you so.'
- The speaker concedes that the doubters and critics were factually correct at the time of each failure, showing an honest acknowledgment rather than dismissal of criticism.
- The speaker distinguishes between being temporarily right and permanently right, suggesting that sustained pursuit beyond failure ultimately invalidates the skeptics' long-term judgment.
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] My first nine businesses didn't really amount to anything. Nine. Nine as in the first one spent time, [ __ ] failed. Second one, this one will be different. [ __ ] failed. Third one. This one. This is the one. I'm just painting this picture because like it's painful as [ __ ] because the whole time everyone is telling you, "I told you so." And they're right today, but not forever.
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