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I paid $75,000 for this lesson, but you’re getting it FREE.

THREAD: A tactical approach for turning losses into wins.

Whether business, life, or sports, owning a method for handling losses is required as they’re inevitable.

Every loss is an inflection point - good or bad, is determined by the strategy.

With process, I turned a big L into a W, and created a recipe I’ll use for life.

So, how did I earn this $75K Lesson?

At 23, my 2nd year in business, a banker on his way out, enrolled us in an "Express Lending Program"

Fancy talk for 9% interest rate for a barely-bankable company.

Ambitious, young, and inexperienced is a dangerous combination.

Viewing the loan as growth capital, I pitched my partners on hiring an agency to run ads.

In storage, ads are expensive, sometimes $20/ click.

Strategy lacking, it wasn’t long before the $75K was gone.

After personally guaranteeing the loan and driving my company to near extinction - I had a choice:

1. Bankruptcy & back to the cube
2. Learn a skill & climb out

So, I learned to turn Ls into Ws…

Here's the process:

Step 1: Avoid compounding
Step 2: Identify & learn skills
Step 3: Disassociate from Identity

Let’s break it down…

Avoid Compounding:

Post mistake, focus attention to understanding the root cause - usually an emphasis on outcome > process is the culprit.

A humbling, but necessary first step to correct course.

Identify & Learn Skills:

Bad situations are a function of lacking - either skill set or knowledge.

What skills would have prevented this situation?

Once identified, start learning and APPLYING new skills immediately.

Dissociate from Identity:

The ego is fragile - one loss can prevent future success if not dealt with appropriately.

View it as a standalone event - and promise to be more methodical in the future.

Then move on.

So, how did this become a big win?

After going through this process, I realized what I was lacking:

Digital marketing skillet set that creates long term asset value.

I identified SEO.

Within 4-months of applying new skills, customers started rolling in.

We’ve since grown to millions in revenue without paid ads!

Better yet, I decided to sell my newfound knowledge to others. I created Bright Line Media, my SEO company, changing my life and giving my family financial freedom.

If you found this helpful, please RT the 1st tweet, so others can learn!

Follow me @barrettjoneill for more content on business, growth, and SEO.