How Did Fear of Failing Hold Julie Zhuo Back?

Julie Zhuo waited to start a company because she was too scared she could not succeed. A perfectionist fear of failing kept her from trying until she believed the attempt would still be worth it if it failed.

The wish went back to college. New to Silicon Valley, she took an entrepreneurship class, thought it sounded amazing, and admired people brave enough to make something out of nothing. She resolved to work at a place like that, which is how she joined Facebook, and she kept the plan to start a company one day. She would have started earlier. She held back because she did not think she could succeed, and the odds looked sobering. Getting ready to start was about building confidence and the conviction that she should at least try. She would skip a bet she believed was a hundred percent likely to fail, but enough of the case had to feel worth it so that failure would still be a very meaningful experience. She had to peel apart her focus on one particular outcome, because that focus was shackling her and chaining her to not trying.

Perfectionism, for her, is a real fear of failing: the mind builds a scene where things fall apart, you feel worthless, and no one will have you back if the result is not what you wanted. The fear had kept her from risks and from adventure, where you try, exciting things happen, you learn, and bad things happen too. Every story has despair, grief, and loss. She reached a point at Facebook where she was no longer learning at the same rate, after Facebook had given her that feeling for a very long time.