Walt Disney went bankrupt before he became successful. So did Henry Ford.
To someone who’s never gone bankrupt, this probably sounds a little bizarre or daunting. But how does it sound to someone who has gone bankrupt before? It didn’t seem to deter Walt or Henry. They knew what it felt like to hit the bottom, to be at the bottom. And, apparently, it wasn’t so terrible or bad that they felt the need to avoid it at all costs in the future. They knew what it felt like to start again from scratch and give it another go. Bankruptcy was their baseline. Anything above that was icing on the cake. Or maybe it was just cake. But anyway, it wasn’t going to get any worse than bankruptcy. When the worst that can happen does happen, you might be surprised at how bad it doesn’t feel.
I used to worry about my credit card being stolen while I was traveling abroad. And then one day it happened. My credit card was stolen. My bank notified me of suspicious charges, they didn’t hold me accountable for them, and they issued me a new card. I had a backup credit card that I used for the rest of the trip, and I never worried about that happening again.
Sometimes, the best thing that can happen is experiencing the worst thing that can happen.