Turning Setbacks into Fuel

Turning Setbacks into Fuel

Hey there!

A few months back we were knee-deep in a renovation project that was supposed to be smooth and straightforward. On paper it looked simple. Hire the contractor, set a timeline, budget for the materials, and by fall we would be enjoying a fresh new space. Instead, we ended up with missed deadlines, extra costs, and me back in a tool belt finishing the work myself.

In the moment, it felt like failure. I had trusted the wrong person, ignored my gut, and was left picking up the pieces. But once the frustration faded, I realized something. That setback taught me more than any smooth project ever could. I learned to listen to my instincts, to act faster when things are not working, and to never again put off tough decisions.

That shift is the difference between being drained by a setback and using it as fuel.

When I look back at every major turning point in my life, there was almost always a setback first. The factory job I hated. The investment property that almost broke me. The business idea that fell flat. Each one felt like the end of the road at the time, but in reality they were detours pointing me toward a better path.

The truth is, business and life are not supposed to be a straight climb upward. If you are chasing big goals, you are going to get knocked down. Deals fall apart, clients back out, markets shift, and sometimes the people you depend on let you down. What matters is how quickly you reframe the setback.

You can either tell yourself, “This means I am not cut out for this,” or you can ask, “What is this teaching me that will make me stronger the next time?” One mindset closes doors. The other builds resilience.

I want you to think about a recent setback in your own life or business. Maybe a deal slipped away, maybe a marketing campaign flopped, or maybe you just felt like you wasted time on the wrong opportunity. Instead of beating yourself up, look at it through a different lens. What skill, insight, or boundary did you gain that you did not have before?

That is the fuel.

Setbacks will never stop showing up. But when you train yourself to see them as tuition instead of punishment, they lose their power to derail you. They become the stepping stones that make the eventual win that much more rewarding.

So the next time you hit a wall, remember this. The wall is not the end of the road. It is part of the training ground.

Talk tomorrow,
Ryan

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