The Taco of Success Always Drips With the Salsa of Failure
Dani Bowman with the entrepreneurial wisdom.
Let’s be honest, failure is part of the deal.
If you’re building something real, you’re going to fall on your face at some point. That’s not negative thinking; it’s just reality.
But here’s the problem: most entrepreneurs are terrified of failing. Not because they’re weak or lazy, but because we’ve been trained—from school, from society, from corporate jobs—to believe that failure is something to avoid at all costs. It’s seen as a verdict. A final judgment.
But that’s bullshit.
Failure is not a verdict. It’s a teacher. It's feedback with a pulse. And if you're paying attention, it's the most honest kind of education you can get.
In fact, some of the most wildly successful people on the planet started out as failures by traditional standards. Let’s take a look at three entrepreneurs who got knocked down—hard—but kept showing up. Not despite failure, but because of it.
1. James Dyson: 5,126 Failures Later
You probably know the name Dyson. You might even own one of his space-age vacuums. But what most people don’t know is that James Dyson built 5,126 failed prototypes before he finally created a vacuum that worked.
Let that sink in, over 5,000 tries. Fifteen years of "not yet."
If you were counting, you might’ve quit at prototype #30. Hell, maybe even #3. But Dyson didn’t. Because he wasn’t just building a vacuum—he was building conviction.
That stick-with-it energy is what separates entrepreneurs who make it from the ones who just talk about it.
Today, he’s a billionaire. His name is literally a brand. And all because he stayed in the game when the world would've said, “Cut your losses.”
2. Colonel Sanders: The 60-Something Founder Nobody Believed In
Harland Sanders didn’t launch KFC until he was in his 60s. That’s not a typo.
Before that, his resume was basically a highlight reel of “close, but no.” He was fired from multiple jobs, ran a gas station that didn’t make it, and even had his restaurant shuttered because of a new interstate.
But he had a damn good chicken recipe—and he believed in it. So, he hit the road and pitched his fried chicken to over 1,000 restaurants. Every single one of them told him no.
Until one finally didn’t.
That “yes” turned into a global brand, and today, KFC has over 25,000 locations around the world. The guy in the white suit wasn’t an overnight success. He was the definition of relentless.
3. Jack Ma: Rejection on Repeat
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, might be the most famous underdog in business history.
He applied for 31 different jobs and got rejected by all of them—including KFC, where 24 people applied and 23 got hired. He was the one left out.
When he tried to get into Harvard? Rejected 10 times.
But instead of letting that rejection define him, he did what most successful entrepreneurs do: he built something of his own.
And not just something—he built Alibaba, now one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world.
He didn’t avoid failure. He wore it like armor.
So Why Do We Still Fear It?
Because we’re human.
Fear of failure is wired into us. But entrepreneurship requires you to rewire your brain. You’ve got to flip failure from a dead-end into data. Into fuel. Into your next move.
The truth is, if you’re not failing, you’re probably not pushing hard enough. Playing it safe in business is the fastest route to irrelevance.
Real learning doesn’t come from wins. It comes from getting punched in the mouth, then figuring out why, and adjusting. That’s where you actually grow. That’s where the skillsets and mindset shifts live. Not in the win—but in what came before it.
The Real Risk? Playing It Safe
Look, failure is uncomfortable. It can be humiliating. It costs time, money, and ego.
But you know what’s worse?
Never taking the shot.
Sitting on a business idea for years, waiting for the “perfect” moment. Watching someone else build the thing you were too scared to try. That’s the stuff that actually stings.
Because inaction doesn’t just kill your business—it kills your momentum. Your creativity. Your confidence. And at some point, it becomes a habit.
You start choosing comfort over progress. And you don’t even notice you’re doing it.
Final Take
Here’s the mindset shift I wish more people got early:
Failure isn’t something to avoid—it’s something to expect and learn from.
If you’re serious about this path, you’re going to mess up. So, learn fast. Adjust faster. Get back in the ring before your fear has time to convince you to sit down.
The goal isn’t to avoid failure. The goal is to build something so real, so aligned with your skills and vision, that you’re willing to fail for it.
That’s the difference.
So go build it. Fail, learn, repeat, succeed! That’s how this game works.
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I talk about real business, mindset, money, and growth. No fluff. No guru BS. Just the good stuff to help you level up and build something that actually matters.