Stefan Fountain (PR.co) - I Don't Often Fail, But When I Do

I don’t often fail,but when I do…

Failure is a mindset.And how to fix it.

Stefan FountainTechsylvania 2016

Failure mindset is driven by scarcity

thinking

You have to suffer to be successful.

True / False?

Building something is hard,you have to be at your best.

Most of the time.

Performance is tied to your attitude.

That is…

Abundance thinking.

Viadeo Amsterdam Intro | Les Arcs | January 18th, 2012

The next 20 minutes…

‣ A short history of a startup

‣ 6 tips to stay sane.




‣ 6 tips to be more successful.




‣ 6 tips to win




‣ 6 tips to win (in life, love, and work)

But first a little warning…

Comfy

Extreme pain and

Disaster

Number of slides

Pain

20

116

This is not me

I’m just a human

It wasn’t always this way..

Back in 2006

My goal: change the world!

.com

o

‣ SYNC EVERYTHINGSoocial provides a service that connects all your daily address books and easily keeps them in sync.

‣ CLEANSoocial provides a constant update and cleaning of your address book. Say goodbye to duplicates.

‣ BACKUPSAnother benefit of Soocial’s service is that you always have backups. If you replace your phone your address book can be restored within minutes.

Soocial's vision is to make it ridiculously easy for people to have the address book anywhere they need it. Providing a smart, connected and trusted address book on all devices and services.

What is Soocial?

?2007

==

London

BETA

2008/2009

?2007

==

LondonBETA

2010

Tears of JOY!! You made me so happy I am on the verge of tears!!! I have been whining about how absurd it is that Google can't manage syncing... THANK GOD I FOUND SOOCIAL !!! Rock on with your bad selves.

?2007

==

LondonBETA

Mountain View, CA Hamburg, DE

2011

It was a win.

…I even bought a boat!

however…I hadn’t changed the world.

It felt like a failure

Lessons learnedLooking back now… what could I have done

differently?

In short:my attitude sucked.

I wasn’t ready for success: I cared too much about what others thought.

I was reactive…

I suffered…

Scarcity-driven attitude

There is always an abundance of options.

Quote me on that.


— Katia Verresen(researcher and executive coach).

‣ You’re not going to build a billion dollar business on a string of bad days.

‣ It has to be a sequence of your very best days

‣ Your performance is tied 100% to your attitude.

How do you switch to abundance thinking?

Reactive Pro-active

Actor Director?Tactics / actions

Diagnose

Point of view

Scarcity

You’re the victim, a bully,

or simplychecked out.

Abundance

You’re in the driver seat.

Source: Verresen

Source: Verresen

6 tips to win.In life, love and work.

1. Noticing

We’re wired not to notice. When you’re focussed you miss

thing.

Take the time and energy to pause and

look around.


‣ If I were to experience this situation differently, what might I notice?

‣ What are my choices here? (Note: this is not questioning whether you have choices, but rather acknowledging that you definitely do.)

‣ If I were to perceive something useful here, what would it be?

‣ If this seemingly impossible task actually is possible, what’s my next logical move?

‣ What’s going right in this situation?

‣ I wonder what it would be like to… (fill in an action that seems to exist outside the scope of possibility.)

Helps you let go of limiting beliefs and

made-up boundaries.

2. Neutrality

The world is not fair or unfair.

It just is.

“If I was neutral what would I notice differently?”

Neutrality also acknowledges that reality is a mess.

Write down the opposing opinions and

let them be heard.

3. Priming

Your attitude dictates what you can see.

Your attitude dictates your altitude.

Sleeping well, eating well, exercise.

HumorNapping at work,

Memories (pictures)SoundtracksMovement

Find a talking partnerFind a quiet spot

You should do 10 minutes of meditation each day, unless you’re busy then

you should do 20.

4. Self-compassion

Life is difficult.If we can deal with this

one simple fact, life becomes much easier.

1. Admit the pain

2. It’s a shared human

condition

3.Do something kind for

yourself

More compassion=

greater grit

5. Generosity

Know your currencyYou have so much more to give than you might think.

intro’sattentionpresencekindness

knowledgeaccess to resources

Find people you can give to.And they will give to you.

BTW: This will also help you find mentors.

And your mentors will learn from your generosity.

Lastly, appreciation is a form of generosity.

How many times did you see someone’s performance

change in a snap because their boss told

them: ‘Good job’?

6. Gratitude

We tend to forget our wins.

The human brain operates in feedback loops.

“Once I get that funding, it will be okay.”

“Once we hire that person, it will be okay.”

And on and on.

But it’s never enough.

And that’s what gratitude fixes.

My journal of wins:

There will always be fires…

But that’s exactly when you need these habits most.

When you’re suffering, you are not at your best.

And you want to be at your best.

Right?

Know that it’s hard.

You’re going to be the first to do something.

Remember why you’re doing it.

The first person to go through the

wall, is the one with blood on

his face.

Remember why you’re doing it…And you’re going to be proud of that blood.

Thank you!Let’s go and win.

You should follow me on twitter: @spif

Technology

Stefan Fountain (PR.co) - I Don't Often Fail, But When I Do