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8 years ago Sara lost in the finale of Richard Branson\u2019s reality TV show \u201cRebel Billionaire\u201d. The loss was one of many that turned Sara into the world\u2019s youngest self-made female billionaire…<\/p>\n

Sara\u2019s entire life has been about failure. She says \u201cMy dad encouraged us to fail. Growing up, he would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn’t have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome, failure is not trying. Don’t be afraid to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 1990s Sara became an expert in failure by selling fax machines (remember those?) and was often so terrified of meeting prospects she would burst into tears and drive around the block to calm down before her sales calls.<\/p>\n

Overheating from the stress of it, she decided to cut the feet off her pantyhose to cool down. That was her \u2018aha\u2019 moment. As she says \u201cWhen I cut the feet out of my pantyhose that one time, I saw it as my sign.\u201d She decided to start a business to sell the footless pantyhose in 1998 with just $5,000 – all of her savings – and called the company \u201cSpanx\u201d.<\/p>\n

Did the failure stop then? No – \u201cWhen I invented Spanx I heard ‘no’ for two years. It didn’t faze me. I didn’t have a special ability, it was sheer drive and telling myself to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

FAILING BIG<\/p>\n

Working from her kitchen, she made a push for publicity, which simply means your failure becomes more public. For example, her experience with the English: \u201cOn the BBC, I was asked what Spanx could do for women in the U.K. I said, ‘It smoothes and separates your fanny.’ The interviewer looked mortified. I had no idea what was going on, so I kept rambling on about fannies until he stopped me and said, ‘I think you mean bum.’ The word fanny means vagina in England.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her publicity led her to Oprah and Richard Branson\u2019s \u201cRebel Billionaire\u201d in 2005. She ended up losing that too, but the show gave her a chance to realize what she really wanted to do with her future success – Start a charity for women. Branson gave her $750,000 to start her charity, the Sarah Blakely Foundation, to support women leaders.<\/p>\n

What happens when your failure rate goes up? Your luck rate goes up too.<\/p>\n

To face her failures, Sara had luck on her back – literally!<\/p>\n

\u201cI found my lucky red backpack from college in my mom’s attic and became determined that it was going to change my path for Spanx because I kept hearing no, no, no. It went with me every step of the way, to the point of being made fun of because I went to Neiman Marcus headquarters with this old backpack as my presentation bag. Now, with the Sarah Blakely Foundation, every woman we send to college or help start a business receives a lucky red backpack. They’re usually more excited about that than the money, which I totally get. The backpack is a symbol of their potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE BIGGEST RISK<\/p>\n

This year Sara Blakely became the youngest female Billionaire in the world, with Spanx generating over $250 million in annual revenue. Sara puts this down to her sheer determination:<\/p>\n

“The biggest risk in life is not risking. Every risk you take in life is in direct proportion to the reward. If I’m afraid of something, it’s the next thing I have to go do. That’s just the way I’ve been.”<\/p>\n

What are your big dreams? Where are your greatest risks?<\/p>\n

Get your own lucky charm on your back, cut off the feet of whatever is holding you back, turn on the music and take the path that Sara took.<\/p>\n

Today, 41-year-old Sara makes many speeches to inspire other entrepreneurs, and even the song she uses to get in her zone is the anthem to failure. As she says – \u201cEminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ is my go-to song to pump myself up if I’m having a tough time or if I get really nervous right before a speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that she\u2019s a billionaire, her mission is \u201cWorld Butt Domination\u201d through Spanx and supporting women through her foundation, which has donated $17.5 million to charities supporting girls and women in South Africa.<\/p>\n

Her failure has meant her wealth has come with humility, which is a different kind of wealth: \u201cI feel like money makes you more of who you already are. If you\u2019re an a**hole, you become a bigger a**hole. If you\u2019re nice, you become nicer. Money is fun to make, fun to spend, and fun to give away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Use Sara’s story to inspire your day: Lose yourself and win the game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How Sara Blakely lost her way to a billion dollars: 8 years ago Sara lost in the finale of Richard Branson\u2019s reality TV show \u201cRebel Billionaire\u201d. The loss was one of many that turned Sara into the world\u2019s youngest self-made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[34,37],"tags":[41,38,40,42,39],"yoast_head":"\n