SPANX Founder Sara Blakely on Overcoming Fear of Failure in Business

Sara Blakely, founder and CEO of SPANX, shares how failure has been a catalyst to her success – and how she uses it to learn, grow and see the upside in everything. Sara is the founder of shapewear company SPANX (www.spanx.com), and in 2012 – at just 41 years old – she became the first female in the world to become a billionaire, on her own, without the help of an inheritance or spouse. At Business Mastery in Palm Beach, Sara shared the number-one influence on her success: her father, who taught her the value of failure. In fact, he expected it – and he expected her to learn from it. Sara shares, “My definition of failure became not about the outcome, but about not trying.” Fear of failure in business is one of the biggest limiting beliefs that holds business owners and entrepreneurs back. Read how you can overcome this fear at https://www.tonyrobbins.com/stories/business-mastery/overcoming-fear-failure/ and watch this video for real-life examples of how Sara uses fear, instead of letting it use her. Her father would ask her: What positive came from it? The ability to find the lesson is one of the best ways to overcome fear of failure and see it as a catalyst for growth instead of the end of the world. Sara says that fear of failure is really fear of embarrassment, fear of what other people think – and when you stop caring what other people think, you’ll experience true freedom to grow and learn. She even uses her embarrassing stories to connect with others, a hallmark of the authentic leadership style she’s known for. Learn more about the different leadership styles at https://www.tonyrobbins.com/what-is-leadership/leadership-styles/ and discover how to use yours to maximize your potential. Basketball coach John Wooden used to say, “You never know whether you won or lost by the score. . . . The only way you know you won is if you left everything on that floor, every moment you were there.” You’re in control of that. And you can master the strategies and skills you need to take your effort to the next level at Business Mastery. Business Mastery is the world’s premier business training event designed and hosted by the world’s #1 authority on personal growth, business transformation and peak performance – Tony Robbins. This five-day event equips entrepreneurs, business owners and operators with cutting-edge systems, skills and strategies not found anywhere else to create an invincible advantage against competitors. Business Mastery is designed to help participants thrive in any economic climate as they discover critical factors impacting their businesses currently, and design an action plan for the next phase of growth, whether they seek more profits or an exit strategy. This includes marketing tips, maximizing a business’ digital presence to actually get seen and discovered online and how to anticipate and solve the biggest business problems. During this comprehensive program, participants gain the same proprietary tools and methodologies Tony Robbins has used to make more than 70 businesses profitable. They’ll also unlock exclusive growth tips from industry giants from companies like Airbnb, OrangeTheory, Shake Shack, SoulCycle, Warby Parker and more. Now available as an immersive virtual event, Tony Robbins’s Business Mastery is drawing even larger crowds and a new generation of business owners. Learn more about Business Mastery: https://tr.tonyrobbins.com/business-mastery 00:00 Sara Blakely 02:30 Four Different Personalities Types You Are Selling To 03:46 Let's Talk About Failure 05:13 John Wooden 06:27 Sara's Mom 07:01 Talk More About Failure 09:48 Embarrassing Moment in Business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices