Wouldn’t Change a Thing

Yesterday I caught up with a good friend who’s also an entrepreneur. He said he was recently asked, “What would you change or do differently?” We’ve both been asked this question for various reasons, so we had a great chat about it.

Things will inevitably get challenging during the entrepreneurial journey. Entrepreneurs will find themselves making important decisions based on imperfect information. Having lived this scenario many times, we agreed about what matters most:

  • Everything happens for a reason. The reason may not be clear at the time, but there is one. Take time to reflect on what happened, and why, so you can apply what you learn in the future. What seems like a failure today could be a steppingstone to a decision that leads to massive success. Reflection and the understanding it engenders are key to improving your decision-making.
  • Neither of us would change any of our decisions. We don’t second-guess them. We didn’t know then what we know now, and we stand by our decisions because we did the best we could with the knowledge and other resources available to us. Don’t continually relive the past. Focus on the future.
  • It isn’t over until the clock reads double zero. Stay focused on getting the win. Sometimes you’ll make decisions that don’t pan out. That’s OK. Dust yourself off and get back in the game. Remember that it isn’t over yet and you can still make a comeback. If you win in the end, all your turnovers and air balls don’t matter anymore.

My conversation with my buddy was a great reminder for both of us that we wouldn’t change a single thing. As he so eloquently put it, “All windshield, no rearview mirror over here!”