While I was in college and struggling for beer money, I was constantly coming up with new and off the wall ways to turn a quick buck.  From getting to campus early and selling my awesome parking spot to “creative sharing” with my gym membership, I managed to stay adequately buzzed most weekends.  While not every idea was ethical, legal, or even very good, at least I was trying.  About halfway through my senior year, while wandering through a local thrift store, my best “college years” business idea came to me.  I would buy up unwanted textbooks, giving a bit more than the bookstore did during buy-backs, and then turn around and sell them online when school started back.  I already had a computer, access to students with old books, and I knew how to list things on Amazon, Ebay, and a few other similar sites.  So, I borrowed some money from my parents to get started and watched my bank account fill up with money that very next fall.  I also completely ditched this brainchild about a year later when I graduated and got a “real job.” Not too long after, other people, who had the same basic idea, made a killing by turning this into a legit business.  It was an epic failure, at least on my part.

After kicking my own ass for not seeing the long term potential, I got pretty happy.  If I had come up with this business, there had to be more like it hanging out in my brain somewhere.  All I had to do was be smart enough to realize it next time around.  At that point, I realized that failure was my friend and not my enemy.

Many people act like failure is a closed door, or the end-all to your options.  Obviously, these people are not entrepreneurs!  Failure, in fact, is quite the opposite for people like you and me.

Failure Draws a Line in the Sand
As you live life, you will constantly be faced with decisions about where and how to invest your time, your money, and your passions.  Each time you make a choice that leads to failure, you have essentially drawn a line in the sand and chosen a side.  Draw enough lines, and even a big beach will eventually become a small playing field that you can succeed in.

Failure Separates the Men from the Boys
In a way, being an entrepreneur is a bit like being in a war.  You have to constantly be alert to new threats and opportunities, while always working to build strengths and overcome weaknesses.  Not everyone can do this long term.  With every failure, you not only learn something, but you prove that you have what it takes to stay in the game.  If it was easy, everyone would do it!

Failure Prepares You for the Real World
If you hadn’t noticed it yet, life isn’t easy and things don’t usually go as you expect.  One of the most valuable weapons in an entrepreneur’s arsenal is knowing how to recover when things go to hell.  While you can read, study, and learn the theory behind doing this, the best teacher in the world is experience.  For every failure, you get the chance to test and mature your contingency planning abilities, making you more valuable and successful in the long term.

So the next time you hear someone say “Failure is not an option!” just call bullshit.  For entrepreneurs, failure is sometimes the best option.