I failed my readers and this is why

There’s something I want to confess to you.

But before I confess, you should know that it’s rare for me to not deliver on promises.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve failed many times in my life (like any other human being) but rarely on my promises–especially with deadlines.

Maybe you remember, maybe you don’t. But I promised to launch an online workshop that teaches introverted freelancers how to sell.

I promised to make it available for purchase on August 18th, 2017.

So, yeah… It’s been three months and no workshop.

Our Success and Failures

We hear and read about so many success stories from the greats. And it makes sense since these stories inspire us. We feast on these stories like vampires after the blood of success.

And so we become addicted to stories of success. We romanticize them. They seduce us. Just take a look at Instagram. Everyone is picture perfect.

But the beauty of success has its warts of failure too.

We all know it. And sometimes we forget it. Some even ignore it or are in denial about it.

That’s why I’m writing this. I’m reminding you and myself about our warts, our failures.

But the beauty of success has its warts of failure too. Click To Tweet

I failed to launch the online workshop on the date I promised you.

But guess what? I’m still in the game. I haven’t been eliminated from the tournament.

Like many introverts, I have an inquiring mind. My mind won’t be at peace until I fully understand my failure.

Three levels of why

I’m sharing my thought process in dissecting and learning from my failure.

To understand anything at a deeper level, I find it useful to dig to at least three levels of “why”.

The first why is usually the easiest to answer. The second why is a bit more challenging. And the third why is where the real understanding begins to happen.

To understand anything at a deeper level, dig to at least three levels of “why”. Click To Tweet

If that doesn’t make sense, then keep reading. You’ll see what I mean.

Why at Level #1 – Why did I fail?

After analyzing my time and actions, I found the culprit of why I failed. My failure was due to creative avoidance.

Never heard of creative avoidance?

Creative avoidance means avoiding an important task with creativity.

Have you ever done that?

A common scenario is when you start to clean your workspace instead of actually doing your work. Sure, sometimes you need to clear the space, but if it happens every time a specific task comes up, then you’re creatively avoiding it.

Some people are geniuses in creative avoidance.

My creative avoidance was the kind in which I was tricking myself into believing that I was being productive. I wasn’t cleaning my workspace, I was focusing on less important tasks to justify not working on launching the online workshop.

Creative avoidance means avoiding an important task with creativity. Click To Tweet

I did this over and over until I eventually missed my deadline.

My failure had nothing to do with people not being interested in the workshop. It had nothing to do with a faulty launch sequence. It wasn’t because the product wasn’t up to par, either.

I failed simply because I never launched. How ridiculous!

Why at Level #2 – Why was I creatively avoiding launching the online workshop?

Did I have a fear of failing?

That wouldn’t make sense since I failed anyway.

Did I fear the work entangled?

Nah, it wasn’t that, either. I was being productive in other ways.

I simply lacked commitment, which isn’t normal for me.

It makes zero sense since I gave all my money away to put certain principles to the test!

(I’ve been keeping afloat with speaking gigs if you’re wondering how I’m getting by.)

It turns out that I’m someone who needs to continually commit. For me, that means showing up every day and putting in the work.

Looking back, I can see when my “showing up every day” cycle was interrupted. I got sick and skipped a few days of work. At the tail end of my recovery, I was scheduled to speak in Austin, TX, so I skipped more days.

And before that, I had broken the cycle when I was in New York for another event.

But these are all excuses. Somewhere along the way, I lost a level of my commitment. Or was I was never fully committed to the launch date, to begin with?

Why at Level #3 – Why did I lose a level of commitment?

Did I lose interest?

Nope. I’ve spoken at several events recently and I still light up when talking about introversion, freelancing, and selling.

Did I not believe in the outcome of the online workshop?

No, it can’t be that, either. I believe in the material, strategies, and principles I teach.

The honest truth? I lost a level of commitment because I struggled with believing in myself.

The tension exists in who I am and who I need to become. The conflict is the difference between my good and bad habits. The problem is the discrepancy between my thoughts and actions.

But aren’t all of our shortcomings for similar reasons?

That’s another reason why I’m confessing my failure to you.

Committing to new launch date for Bona Fide Selling

I’m Luis, the guy who teaches fellow introverted freelancers how to sell. And I’m still a work in progress.

You read my articles, hear my guest interviews, and keep up with my happenings because you know you’re not selling to your full potential (or maybe you just like me that much).

Tension exists in who you are and who you need to become. Click To Tweet

But know that you’re in the process of relieving the tension of selling decent projects to selling awesome projects.

You’re getting ready to resolve the conflict of being too busy and freeing up your time.

You’re solving the problem of getting by with low-priced projects to creating security by selling high-priced projects.

I’m here to help, even being a work in progress myself. I’m new to this online business and community building stuff, but I am a seasoned introverted freelancer who knows how to sell awesome projects.

I promise to create an online workshop/program worth your time and money.

Update: Enrollment for Bona Fide Selling opens on Thursday, November 16, at 10 am.

PS: You have permission to punch me in my stomach if I fail on this promise again!