On how Walt Disney was fired for lack of imagination and 'the moral' of this story.

Verónica Jiménez Folcrá, Director of the Higher Degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at ESIC University and founder of WomanCard Spain.

When it comes to entrepreneurship, frustration in the face of closed doors should be the main obstacle to overcome. What is the most important lesson we can learn from successful entrepreneurs? To focus on their mistakes rather than their successes.

Entrepreneurship is not easy, whoever says otherwise is lying. The road is full of obstacles and now comes the "get up and keep walking" -simple to write-, which is presented as a necessary mantra to make your own if you are thinking of creating your own business.

In my years as a mentor I have had the opportunity to sit down with a variety of entrepreneurs, from young university students eager to change the world to mature profiles that undertake out of necessity, or because they have been able to find an opportunity in the market, and in some cases, for both. And there are many initiatives that ESIC Emprendedores promotes to 'give impetus' in the pulse of entrepreneurship.

As you listen to his ideas, and over the years, you realize that something that keeps recurring in our talks is not having the impact I had hoped for. This is the moment when my memory goes back to the moment when we sat down for the first time and the conversation started with "I have an idea that will make me a millionaire" . Now yes, impact against reality, change of discourse.evisar statistics, according to the latest report of GEM Spain (2020-2021) the perception of the entrepreneur on the fear of failure is at 64% and consolidated business in the last 3.5 years is at 14.4%.

Unfortunately, this usually translates into a state of continuous frustration, of generalized anxiety, where you are approached by doubts about whether you have taken the right path, whether all the effort is worth it. The emotional imbalance is approaching, in which you must demonstrate tolerance to frustration and uncertainty, skills typical of the entrepreneur's profile.

This culture of fear of failure, deeply rooted in our society, is not linked to learning or to the acquired capacity for resilience and determination . Closing a business is bad, not convincing the client with your idea is bad, getting fired is bad, but what if it is not?

Are you familiar with Walt Disney? Who hasn't enjoyed his creations and admired his world full of magic, but the world-renowned production company was not his first attempt to succeed. Walt Disney had many obstacles in his professional career, even being fired as an illustrator for lack of imagination. When it seemed that he was recovering and was on the verge of success , the rights of his character Oswald The Lucky Rabbit , who was beginning to be recognized, were stolen . The perseverance that characterized him made Walt Disney not give up and bet everything on a single card, Snow White arrived.

One of the current entrepreneurs who best embodies self-improvement is Jack Ma, founder of the Chinese online commerce holding company Alibaba, who, as he says in several interviews, his academic profile was far from brilliant, his application to Harvard was not accepted, and he was continuously rejected as a candidate in the selection processes to which he applied. His startup was discarded by investors in Silicon Valley, the cradle of technological entrepreneurship, for not making a profit in the first three years, something that almost led him to bankruptcy.

Persistence must be linked to entrepreneurship, but I have good news, the entrepreneur performs the Master of Life, getting up every morning thinking that you are fighting for your dream, for no one else's, staying constant, adapting to environmental changes and learning from your mistakes isa learning that is not found in books . You have to live it.

And as Jack Ma says, "Instead of learning from other people's successes, learn from their mistakes. Most people fail for the same reasons, while success can be attributed to various reasons."