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On today’s episode, I want to be open and candid about a failure I had this year.

Here are three main thoughts or lessons around failure that I’m trying to always keep in mind:

#1. Failure is not necessarily a bad word.

There can be times when you completely mess something up, but there can be times when something just didn’t work out or the client failed, but you feel like a failure anyway.

It sounds cliché, but I think it’s important to learn from our failures. Do a candid debrief with yourself: How did this happen? Why did this happen? How can I prevent this in the future?

#2. When I set an overarching goal for my business—and I remember to stick to that goal—I’m less likely to fail.

Here’s what I mean: My overall goal is to be a go-to and respected writer and editor in the membership association industry. While it’s important sometimes to go out of your comfort zone, I also do better when I stick to my goal and choose projects and clients related to my goal.

#3. Stick to Katherine Reynolds Lewis’ 3 P’s model.

As she explained in episode 132, when Katherine is deciding whether to take on a project, an assignment or a new client, she always considers the 3 P’s: pay, portfolio and passion.

Following this model helps you know your WHY and can keep you on track.

In this episode, I outline a failure I had with a client this year and the lessons I learned from it. I also talk about previous failures in episode 71 (link below).

Biz Bite: Establish a personal board of advisers.

The Bookshelf: “Hell of a Book” by Jason Mott

Resources:

Record and email me a voice memo about your organizational tips, processes and systems to melanie@meledits.com for a future podcast episode.

Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.

Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.

Episode #71 of Deliberate Freelancer: 3 Failures and the Lessons They Taught Me

Episode #132 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Choose Projects Using the 3 P’s Model, with Katherine Reynolds Lewis