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My company Jotform didn’t turn into an overnight success. I didn’t get up one day to find I used to be TechCrunch’s darling, nor did I attract massive rounds of funding from VCs desirous to get in on the motion of getting in shape.
I do not think I want to inform you that a form builder isn’t the sexiest startup foundation in the world. But that does not trouble me one bit. Jotform is successful not because it is flashy, but because our products work. I consider it really works because my employees and I strive every day to supply our customers with the best possible experience.
Here’s the truth: success isn’t about having the best and most original idea. It’s about being resilient. For me, it was about getting up with the birds and spending every morning before my full-time job working on my startup, even when it was cold and dark and it could be easier to remain in bed. It was about not giving up when a large tech giant released a product much like the one I used to be launching. Resilience helped me keep going even when I desired to quit.
Resilience is an internal fire that burns even in hostile conditions. Some people are born with it; others develop it over time. Here’s learn how to build your personal resilience, even if it doesn’t come naturally to you.
Keep calm
I’m a supporter of the practical philosophy of Stoicism, the goal of which, as the philosopher Epictetus put it, is “to identify and separate things so that I can tell myself clearly which are external, beyond my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. “
As a founder, there are many stuff you cannot control – “external” ones. Perhaps you lost a customer, received a bad review, or experienced data corruption. These things may appear to be the end of the world, but they are not. Tomorrow the sun will rise again.
It’s normal to get offended when you fail, but worrying too much only keeps you from focusing on the stuff you have power over – the “inner stuff.” An enormous a part of building resilience is learning to place aside external aspects and as an alternative focus your efforts on managing what’s internal.
I find it helpful to make a list – what are the things I worry about that I can control? What are the things I worry about that I am unable to? Make a list of your external worries and put them in a drawer. Then navigate to your internal list using the Eisenhower Matrix to allow you to prioritize.
Be data-driven
In times of turmoil, I all the time look at the data. Not only do numbers never lie, but they are crucial to creating informed decisions based on specific insights about every part from market trends to user habits to operations. I’ve all the time been careful to trace our monthly lively users – seeing them steadily increase helps quiet the “what ifs” which may otherwise take over.
While gut feeling could be vital, I strongly consider in making decisions based on data.
Practice gratitude
It may sound a little woo-woo, but practicing gratitude has been proven to profit each your mental and physical health, building a layer of resilience in the face of hardship. In 2003, psychologist Robert A. Emmons made a breakthrough test this has opened the door to research on the myriad effects that a gratitude mindset has on our well-being. Since then, researchers have found that folks who experience gratitude in their day by day lives are less prone to suffer from depression and sleep higher.
“What impresses me is the objective, biologically verifiable results that go beyond self-report measures” – Dr. Emmons he said the New York Times.
The best part? Being grateful takes little or no time. Experts advise making it a a part of your routine – whether it’s when brushing your teeth or opening your laptop to start out your day.
To proceed
One of the best ways to build resilience is to easily keep moving forward. World War II General George Patton, who led troops through almost every major American conflict in the twentieth century, put it best: “A good plan executed brutally now is better than a perfect plan next week.”
At Jotform, we employ a hybrid launch strategy – we continually improve our products while planning large, public launches. In the latter case, we strategize fastidiously – teams have tasks planned before the big day to alleviate stress and unexpected circumstances.
But even with careful planning, mistakes occur. This is simply the reality of bringing a product to market. And you know what? We deal with them. Our development team is notified day by day of open bugs, and we maintain a leaderboard where we tackle the oldest issues first. We even make it a little fun as developers compete every week to see who can fix the most bugs.
No product might be perfect, but that doesn’t suggest you stop moving forward. Of course, you wish your product to be good and it’s best to do every part in your power to make it so. But striving for an unimaginable ideal will only slow you down.
There are many good startup ideas that can never come to fruition. This is because the idea itself is only a fraction of what it takes to achieve success. Resilience is key. Stay calm, analyze your data, be grateful and most significantly, keep moving forward.