I failed forward to a 6-Figure Business

Now it's your turn.

Author

Chris Schwagerl
January 16, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

It's funny, but all my greatest successes in life emerged from major disappointments.

Let's get real for a second - are you sitting there feeling like everything's going wrong?

Like you just can't catch a break?

I get it.

We ALL get it.

The real estate market has lost its luster, cashflow is tough, and help is not on the way.

Everything's gone sideways - it sucks.

No sugarcoating it.

But here's the deal (and you might not like this at first):

Failure isn't your enemy. It's your teacher.

Tough love moment:

If you're not failing, you're not pushing hard enough.

So let's cut through the BS and talk about turning your "Oh crap" moments into "Oh snap!" breakthroughs.

Why Failure Feels Final

When things go south, it's tempting to play the blame game or curl up in a ball and hide.

Society's got us thinking failure is this terrible thing we need to avoid at all costs.

But that's not the case.

The science backs me up here:

People who own their mistakes? They're the ones who end up crushing it.
(McGill, 2021)

The most successful people have this thing called "rigid flexibility." They're stubborn about their goals but flexible about how to get there.
(CohenMiller et al., 2020)

There's even a whole method called IDeAS that turns failures into fuel for success. (Boyd et al., 2015)

Time for a Mindset Upgrade

Stop seeing failure as a stop sign. It's more like a GPS recalculating.

Ask yourself:

"What's this mess trying to teach me?"

"How can I come back stronger?"

Here's Your Map:

  • Get Brutally Honest.

  • Drop the ego.

  • Look at what went wrong without beating yourself up.

  • Focus on what you can control and fix.

  • Be Like Bamboo

  • Strong but flexible.

  • When stuff goes sideways, get creative.

There's always another way.

Get Strategic About It

Use that IDeAS framework I mentioned:

  • What exactly went wrong?

  • Break it down

  • Figure out why

  • Plan your comeback

  • Flip the Script

Every failure is just a data point for your next attempt.

Starting now, replace "I failed" with "I found another way that doesn't work."

The Payoff

When you stop fearing failure, everything changes:

You bounce back faster

You make smarter moves

You start innovating in creative ways

Your Homework (Yes, I'm Giving You Homework)

  • Take that thing that just went wrong.

  • Give yourself 5 minutes - right now, not later - and answer:

  • What actually happened?

  • What's the lesson here?

  • What's your next move?

Here's what's wild: once you start treating failures like feedback, you'll spot opportunities lurking in the shadows.

They were always there, but you didn't have the guts to see them.

Drop a comment and tell me about a time you turned a face-plant into a victory.

Your story might be exactly what someone else needs to hear right now.

Keep pushing, keep growing, keep failing forward.

P.S. That thing you're afraid of failing at?

Go do it anyway.

Trust me on this one.

YOLO (Do people still say that?)

To your failures,

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I help you:

1. Become a $500MM Syndicator

A 1:1 custom experience designed to 3x your capital raising and 10x your assets under management. Train your brain to make success inevitable without sacrificing your personal life.

2. STAR Syndicator Group

Want quick wins to kick-off the year?

This 6-week group will find and destroy your limiting beliefs. Reply “group” for details of our next group.