Entrepreneurship is about taking risks. With risk taking comes the chance for failure. Failures, however, need not be a detriment to success. Quite often, they can be the building block. Matthew Turner is currently writing a book called The Successful Mistake: inspiring tips, tricks & tales from 250 successful entrepreneurs. The premise, he writes, is to interview business people and discuss their mistakes and how they turned them around. In a blog post for under30ceo.com, he shared some of the thoughts that will be in the book and a story of struggle from Richard Branson:

Mistake Or Valuable Lesson?

Having interviewed dozens of inspiring individuals I’m beginning to connect some rather important dots. Often the difference between a successful person and everyone else is how they react to adversity.

Bad things happen from time-to-time, and we’re often left with a rather simple decision: Fight or Flight

Yes, that natural instinct of fighting or fleeing comes to mind, and those successful entrepreneurs that build empires are often those that fight…fight…and fight some more. Success is rarely handed on a plate, and I’d like to share (a) Famous Entrepreneur who had to find success the hard way:

Richard Branson

In 1971 Richard Branson was just starting to grow Virgin Records, and although things were going rather well, money was tight and tough times lay ahead.

His mistake began when he won a contract to export records to Belgium, and after a few things went wrong, he realised he could avoid certain UK taxes by appearing to export but never actually doing so. His debts would soon be cleared and all would be well, but this little idea was illegal, and as with all illegal matters, the risk is high.

As you can imagine the Tax Man came knocking and Richard Branson spent a night in jail and was forced to pay a rather hefty fine. Yes, the same Richard Branson that so many people idolise (including me).

What Richard learned was that his reputation is his biggest attribute, and no amount of fame or fortune can replace it. He vowed in that jail cell that he would never return, and this mistake helped him build a certain set of values that he’s since lived to. As with most wealthy people he’s no doubt faced occasions where bribes and ‘loopholes’ could have been taken, but he’s learned his lesson from a rather large and potentially devastating mistake. This error in judgement could not only have ended his business, but tainted his entire life.

Mistakes can shape our destiny. As you can see in Branson’s story, there are people who can take the proverbial lemon and turn it into lemonade. Clearly, his experience has shaped his drive to become the dynamo businessman esteemed by many today. Think about your own experience…what have you done that, when it happened, you wished you hadn’t, but in retrospect would not trade the lesson learned for anything?

Moving beyond mistakes in the past, think about your current situation. Does fear of being wrong or making a mistake hold you back in a key decision that you are considering? Are you paralyzed with apprehension about what may go wrong with a pending strategic move? There must be a balance between due diligence and postponing risk taking for fear of failure. We can overcome most failures and become better for the experience. Are you willing to risk it?