Back in 2014, Jeff Bezos and Amazon launched the Fire phone.
It was supposed to be their iPhone killer.
They spent four whole years developing it.
Pouring millions into development, marketing, and production.
In July 2014, the phone was released to the public.
By September 2015, Amazon stopped selling the Fire Phone.
It was a complete disaster. Selling maybe just shy of 35,000 units.
Amazon had to write off $170 million.
Critics said that the whole thing was embarrassing as hell.
But here’s what Bezos said after that massive failure:
“We lost a lot of money on this one and we are going to have even bigger failures than that in the future. If we are going to continue to scale we have to continue to make bold bets.”
I share this with you because you, me, and Bezos have something important in common.
We’ve all failed…Spectacularly.
The truth is, if you’re planning to build anything meaningful in business, you’re going to fail.
In fact, the most remarkable part as an entrepreneur isn’t the successes that get highlighted.
It’s not building or exiting multiple 8 and 9-figure businesses, which I’ve done.
It’s the number of times I’ve poured money into a business idea only for it to fail.
That’s just the cost of admission for success.
Think how many times Michael Jordan has shot the ball only to miss. He’s missed more than he’s made.
As Wayne Gretzky said… you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Bezos understood this.
That’s why after the Fire phone disaster, Amazon didn’t play it safe. They kept making bold bets. Alexa. AWS. Prime Video. Some worked, some didn’t.
I’ve failed my fair share.
Those failures led me to building businesses like Fit Body Boot Camp and Trulean Wellness.
Some things work, others don’t.
But the ones that worked more than paid for the ones that didn’t.
And I know you understand this too. You’ve had your failures.
The difference between winners and losers isn’t who fails.
The difference is who keeps taking swings after they fail.
Most entrepreneurs fail once or twice and then convince themselves to “play it safe.” They start making smaller bets, taking fewer risks, trying to control outcomes instead of maximizing opportunities.
That’s not safety. That’s a one-way ticket to guaranteed mediocrity.
Success rewards the people who can absorb failures and keep swinging. They understand that you only need to be right once in a big way to offset being wrong multiple times.
So whatever you’re building, whatever you’re working on, expect to fail at some point.
But don’t let it stop you from making the next bet, because failure is only temporary defeat if you’re willing to get up, dust yourself off and go at it again.
The difference between you and the guy who gives up after his first failure might just be one more swing.
I want to help you win in business!
If you want to learn the tools for handling failure and building something big, join me at the next Brotherhood Project.
Spend the day with me and some like-minded men who are building big things and leveling up in life.
We’ll dive deep into the business strategies that are currently working, we’ll workout together, eat lunch and dinner together and you’ll build a network of solid men as friends.
And I have some heavy-hitter guests who will be giving you some unfiltered lessons about business and life.
Talk soon,
Bedros Keuilian
P.S. The winners aren’t the ones who never fail but the ones who fail fast, learn quick, and keep taking swings.