Refinement through setbacks, failure & pivots
As entrepreneurs and business leaders, we all face difficulties and setbacks in our journeys.
Whether it's the rejection of pitches, failed campaigns, or ideas that don't take off, these challenges can be demoralizing.
But with a perspective informed by Christ, we can take comfort in those moments of failure, because we know that God can use these challenges to prune us of our self-reliance and pride and mold us into better leaders and stewards for whatever is to come.
This past Sunday and for the next several weeks until the feast of Pentecost, the Church celebrates the Resurrection of Christ and His triumph over sin and death.
It is a season of hope.
This weekend, SENT Ventures will be hosting our second annual SENT Summit focused exactly on the transformative power of hope that can change the game in the wake of failure.
Here are a few entrepreneurs you might recognize who faced numerous failures and setbacks before achieving success.
Steve Jobs was famously fired from his own company, Apple, in 1985 after a power struggle with the board of directors. However, he returned to the company in 1997 and transformed it into one of the most successful and innovative companies in history. He later said that the time away “freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”
Similarly, Walt Disney faced bankruptcy with his first animation studio, Laugh-O-Gram, and struggled to find success with his new studio until the creation of Mickey Mouse in 1928. Rather than settle with the failure, Disney used it as an opportunity for a fresh start.
Reid Hoffman’s first project was the network SocialNet, which never took off. After SocialNet, Hoffman became COO of Paypal. Eventually, he took the lessons he learned from both experiences and co-founded LinkedIn.
What sets these entrepreneurs apart from others is not just their grit. It’s their willingness to go through the process of becoming who they needed to be.
Instead of dwelling in their failures, they let their failures refine them.
During this Easter Octave (the first eight days of the Easter season) and throughout the Easter season, how will you embody the transformative power of hope? How will you let your failures refine you?
