— by Neal Anderson

Five years ago, I applied for a new job. I quickly rose to the top of the candidate pool and got that feeling– I’m going to land this job! After multiple interviews, each better than the last, I was told that it was just a matter of final details and one last interview. 

Finally, it was decision week. The phone rang. Words were exchanged. I don’t remember anything except for the feeling of my heart sinking in embarrassment. They went with someone else. I didn’t get the job. I walked home from work that day with a sense of failure I had never experienced.

I realized this was the first experience of significant rejection I had ever experienced. I used to be privately proud of my success in nearly everything. I got the jobs. I got promotions. It’s how it always happened. I was successful.

Well, it turns out there are two ways to look at a personal history of success and failure: the first, and my default perspective, is that past success is an indicator of achievement. I looked at my many successes and few failures and felt that I came out winning. But there’s a second way to look at my history of success and very few failures: as an indicator of how much risk and challenge I was taking (or not taking). 

If I ever thought I was Michael Phelps, it turns out I was just a guy who managed to swim in pools where I knew I could win. All quietly calculated success, small success.

Not getting that romanticized job was the best thing that ever happened to me. My perspective shifted, and risk became something to pursue, not manage. 

Fast forward to the summer of 2018. I had a growing burden/dream to start a business. With no MBA and no business experience, this dream felt more like wishful thinking than a possible reality. 

In December of 2019, I was having lunch with a new friend for the first time. It felt a little vulnerable, but I decided to take a small risk and share my dreams to start a business someday. New friend, Mark, had an MBA, after all. He could squarely look me in the eye and tell me I was crazy, putting my dream of a business launch out of its misery. 

He looked at me without skipping a beat and said, “I know exactly what your business should be.” Confused, I tilted my head. “What do you mean?” “You need to do this,” he said, as in exactly what we were doing over lunch. He described how in just a few interactions with me, he felt I was gifted at leadership coaching. 

Something clicked. That was it. I always dreamed of working in the leadership space but figured it was just for seasoned professionals, not 30-somethings. I never dreamed it might be a business. That moment, through the encouragement and affirmation of a friend, my dream took form. 

I officially launched CARTO Leadership in October of 2020. The risk still feels enormous. I’m leaning into the opportunities to grow, push my abilities, and see what opportunities arise. This whole thing is too new to have any success stories. No huge contracts, no scaling at warp speed, and the Today Show still hasn’t called to feature me. 

However, starting CARTO Leadership is the success. Thanks to the support of people who know me well, and a group I started called the First 50 (I convinced 50 friends to help me launch CARTO out of goodwill), I took the risk of failure and started a business to serve leaders. 

Without losing that job a couple of years back, I doubt if I would have had what it took to actually risk. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.” For far too long, my plans were small and self-serving. 

I wonder what you might accomplish or learn if you leaned into more risk, stepped out of your comfort zone, and pushed into territory where you fear failure. There’s one way to find out.

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[ Photo by Khachik Simonian on Unsplash ]