Here's something nobody tells you when you start your business journey. The setbacks, they don't stop coming. But here's what I've learned after building and selling multiple businesses, is that entrepreneurs who succeed aren't the ones who avoid challenges. They're the ones who get really good at turning those challenges into stepping stones. Today we're diving into my setback success method, and I have to be honest with you, this isn't about putting on a brave face and pretending that setbacks don't hurt. Because they do. But what I've discovered is that there's actually gold hidden in every single challenge, and I'm gonna show you exactly how to find it. Welcome back to Thrive in Five, where I give you a quick burst of motivation and productivity in five minutes or less. Spend just five minutes with me and you'll be ready to tackle your day like a pro. Whether you're focused on life or business. I'm Cindy, your host, a self-made entrepreneur. Busy mom and business coach, I've built and sold multiple digital businesses ranging from five to six figure successes. So when it comes to managing time and priorities in both life and work, I get it. I've been there and I am here to help you thrive. Can we be completely honest for a second? When something goes wrong in your business, maybe a launch completely flops a client who fires you outta nowhere, or your revenue takes an unexpected nosedive. Your first instinct isn't to look for the opportunity. You feel like crud. You question everything, and you start wondering if you're really cut out for this small business owner life. I see this all the time with the amazing women that I work with. You are so hard on yourselves. One setback hits and suddenly you're spiraling into I'm a failure mode. But here's what I wish that someone had told me years ago. Taking setbacks personally is like taking the weather personally. It's just not helpful, and it keeps you stuck. The real problem isn't the setback itself, it's that we were never taught how to process challenges as anything other than evidence that we are doing something wrong. So here's something fascinating that I learned. When a setback happens in your business, your brain literally can't tell the difference between that and a physical threat, that fight or flight response that you feel. It's the same one that our ancestors had when facing actual danger. But here's where it gets really interesting. Successful entrepreneurs have learned to interpret that pattern. So instead of staying in panic mode, they've trained themselves to ask, what is this actually teaching me? I used to think that just positive thinking was fluff until I experienced it myself when one of my businesses first launched, it was a complete disaster. I'm talking about crickets. Zero page views coming in. Zero sales. I felt like I was completely embarrassed. Truly, I was devastated. But once I got past that initial sting, I realized that the failure taught me more about my audience and my messaging than six months of market research could ever have told me. So Here's the method that change everything. For me, it's just three steps, but they are powerful. Step one, feel it through phase first. We're gonna feel our feelings I know, I know you wanna skip straight to the solution, but trying to bypass the emotional part is like trying to drive with the parking brake on. Give yourself 24 hours to feel disappointed, frustrated, and scared. Set a timer if you need to, but honor the emotion first. Step two is what I call the treasure hunt. This is where we become business detectives. Every setback is carrying information. We just need to extract it. Ask yourself what worked in this situation and what didn't? What would you do differently? If you could do it again, write it down, because your brain will try to forget the lessons when all the emotion fades. Step three, the opportunity flip. So here is where I think the magic happens. You look at your setback and you ask. How could this actually set me up for something better? That client who ghosted you might have freed up space for your dream client. That failed product launch might have revealed a totally different market need. The goal isn't to pretend that the setback was good. It's to find the strategic advantage that's hiding inside of it. So let's talk about making this real in your life right now. So first thing, I create what I call a learned lessons folder. Every time you use this method, document what you discover. I promise you this becomes like a personal business school that gets more valuable over time. Second, you need to practice emotional regulation. The faster you move from this is terrible to this is information, the more power you have. Here's something that might surprise you. Share your setback stories with other entrepreneurs, not for sympathy, but for perspective. When you normalize setbacks as part of the journey, they lose the power to derail you. Friend, I want you to know that setbacks in your business aren't the evidence that you weren't meant for this. They're the evidence that you're actually doing something that matters. Every entrepreneur I know who's built something meaningful has a collection of setback success stories. Your current challenge isn't the universe trying to tell you to quit. It's preparing you for your next level. And when you see those setbacks as business intelligence instead of business failures, you become the kind of entrepreneur who can handle anything. The resilience mindset is exactly what I help women develop through my one-to-one coaching and through my Growth Collective Mastermind. Because when you know how to turn any challenge into your competitive advantage, there's literally nothing that can stop you. Now go find that gold in the challenge and turn it into your greatest comeback story yet. And remember, you've got this. Thanks for spending these five minutes with me on Thrive in Five. If today's tip was helpful, don't forget to subscribe and share this with another amazing person who could use a little motivation. I'd love to hear how you're using these tips. Tag me at exclusively Cindy on social media and let me know how they're helping you. And if you've got a moment, leaving a review would mean the world to me and would help others find the podcast too. Until next time, stay focused, keep thriving, and remember you've got this.