24 Sep A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skilled Sailor

Wave after wave, it’s all coming at us, the good (sometimes even great) and the less good. For a control freak like me (and a perfectionist, yes I’m the perfect disastrous combo), it can be very frustrating at times. One thing I constantly have to remind myself of is to accept all of the things I cannot change and focus my energy on those that I can change.

Looking back, starting our own clothing brand (from scratch, no investors), while the world economy is in a crisis was quite a courageous thing to do…And it hasn’t been easy, we’ve been fighting through every step. However, a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. The fighting is resulting in winning, slowly but surely we are putting our brand Wulterkens on the world map.
I embrace all of the ‘’mistakes’’ we’ve made and the lessons learned from them, I feel I have grown so much as a person within the last 1,5 year. If you don’t fail, you don’t learn. Keep in mind, failure is relative, for instance, it might be just not making the sale you really wanted, not the end of the world.

For everyone following our growth, it seems to go really fast. And perhaps, it is, but in our eyes, because we know how much time and effort we put in and we know our goals, it’s not going fast enough. I see this as positive though, because it keeps us hungry and striving for more, thereby constantly improving and producing a better product.

The fact that it’s not easy is why it’s not for everyone. And the win, will be of so much more value after knowing you have acquired it by giving your all compared to if someone would just give it to you. I think at some point we all realize that it really is about the journey, not so much the destination. Still, the destination is key to keep you on point during the journey.

In the end there is a lot of sacrifice, there will be rejections and you will have to get over your fears (believe in yourself). If you can dream it you can do it. Just have the courage and persistence to follow through. Stay positive, be critical to yourself. Try to be the best version of yourself, constantly striving to be better than the last version of you.  Don’t compete with others, you don’t know their story. Create your own opportunities, if they are not presenting themselves.

Most importantly, know you are not alone: 85 % of today’s millionaires started from scratch. A famous Michael Jordan quote: ‘’I’ve failed over and over again and that is why I succeed’’. The famous stories about Walt Disney, J.K. Rowling, Steve Jobs and many others being rejected numerous times before reaching their success, are inspiring to never give up and keep going, keep believing in yourself and your product.

This is really successful business 101 in the tiniest nutshell (I’m sure I also left a lot of important things out, but will cover specific topics in the future). While I’m sharing my lessons learned with you, it is at the same time  a note to myself, because for me also, it’s a constant battle. One thing I know for sure: I Can and I Will accomplish anything I set my mind to, I have always before, and I always will. I wish the same for all of you.

Love,

Nadira