10 How to Fail Better

As a business owner and chef, Danny has faced his share of disappointing moments. But what has separated him from others is his willingness to learn from those experiences and try again. This spirit of continual experimentation impacts everything Danny pursues, from his business approach to his cooking style, and has resulted in the thriving Mission Chinese Food restaurant and its one-of-a-kind menu.

But none of that would have been possible had he quit at the first sign of failure.

“Failing fast” has become a modern mantra of entrepreneurship, but it’s not that simple. Here are five keys that help entrepreneurs like Danny make the most out of failure.

Be Fearless  Instead of obsessing over details and waiting until your idea is perfect, just get it out there. See how it fares out in the world, then adjust as needed. Fearing failure can keep your ideas from ever seeing the light of day, so embrace it and let ‘er rip.

Embody the Process  Some of the most successful entrepreneurs work quick, frequent experiments into their regular creative process. Feeling comfortable with this approach will help your ideas grow stronger, quicker—even if the first several iterations are “failures.”

Reframe Failure  Failure WILL happen—it’s a part of life. But instead of lamenting, forgetting and moving on, view it as a valuable learning experience. Assess what happened and make it better next time. Speaking of which…

Make Sure There IS a Next Time  A failure is only truly a failure when you quit. Take every miss as a chance to try again… and again and again and again.

Failure Isn’t the Goal  Despite the allure of the “fail fast” philosophy, failure isn’t the ideal. It’s simply a call to destigmatize the event and encourage quick, corrective iterations that eventually lead to success.

For every entrepreneur encouraging the next generation to “fail fast,” these five guidelines echo the unspoken truths of how to turn failure into success. Like Danny, incorporating these keys into your creative process will help you stay resilient and achieve your dreams.

ANGELA JONES