I’ll never forget the gut-wrenching thud of the boxes hitting my office floor. It was the smell that hit me first—that intoxicating mix of fresh ink and cardboard that meant our new book was finally here. We had printed 1,300 copies of our most anticipated title, Mindset Maters. I grabbed a box cutter, sliced through the tape with a grin, and pulled out the first copy.
The cover was beautiful. The layout was crisp. And the title, in big, bold letters, read: Mindset Maters.
My heart didn’t just sink; it plummeted. A single, stupid typo. My first instinct was to hide the boxes, burn them, and pretend this never happened. That one mistake felt like the end of my business. Instead, it became my greatest teacher. Crawling out of that mess taught me more about entrepreneurship than any success ever could. Here are the eight real-world lessons that typo taught me.
1. You Don’t Fear Failure Once You’ve Looked It in the Eye
The embarrassment was crushing. I had to call authors, distributors, and my own team to tell them I’d screwed up. But once I did, a strange thing happened. The fear vanished. Failure was no longer a vague monster hiding in the shadows; it was a specific problem with a shape and a size. It was a pile of misprinted books and a series of tough phone calls. Once you know exactly what failure looks like, it stops being scary. It just becomes a problem to solve.
2. In a Crisis, Find Your One Single Goal
Panic creates chaos. My mind was racing with a hundred thoughts: Who do I blame? How much money will we lose? Is my career over? But none of that mattered. I realized I had to find the one single goal that would get us through: fix the problem and protect our reputation. That clarity cut through the noise. It wasn’t about blame or profit; it was about damage control. This focus became our roadmap out of the disaster.
3. Your “Big Why” is What Keeps You from Quitting
Believe me, I wanted to quit. It would have been so much easier to close up shop and go back to a regular job. But then I thought about my “Big Why”—the reason I started this publishing house in the first place: to help people transform their lives. Was I going to let one typo kill that mission? No chance. Your “why” isn’t just a motivational poster; it’s the anchor that holds you steady when the storm hits.
4. A Mentor is Your First Phone Call in a Fire
After staring at the box for ten minutes, my hands shaking, I made one phone call. It was to Shen Xuan Hui, my mentor, a grizzled publisher from Bussorah Street, Singapore. I explained the situation, expecting a lecture. Instead, he just chuckled and said, “Okay, so it’s ink on paper. Happens to the best of us. Let’s make a plan.” His calm voice and practical advice were a lifeline. He didn’t solve the problem for me, but he showed me the path. A mentor isn’t someone who has all the answers; they’re someone who reminds you that you can find them.
5. You Have to Believe in Your Success, Especially After a Failure
The hardest part was facing our retail partners. I had to walk into meetings, admit our massive screw-up, and convince them to stick with us. I couldn’t do that with my head hung in shame. I had to believe—and make them believe—that we were a company that fixed its mistakes and would come back stronger. That confidence, even when I felt like a fraud, is what saved those partnerships.
6. Progress is Messy. Perfection is a Myth.
That typo was the ultimate symbol of imperfection. It shattered my illusion that I could build a flawless business. In its place, I learned a more valuable lesson: it’s not about avoiding mistakes; it’s about how you recover from them. We implemented a new three-stage proofreading checklist and improved our process — that typo forced us to get better. Progress, not perfection, is the real engine of growth.
7. Purposeful Work Prevents Chaos
The aftermath could have been a chaotic blame game. Instead, I had to create a purposeful plan:
- Recall: Contact everyone and transparently explain the error.
- Reprint: Work with the printer on an expedited (and costly) new run.
- Rebuild: Offer a discount to our partners for the delay to maintain goodwill.
8. Being a Giver Builds Unbreakable Trust
How do you regain trust after a mistake like that? You give. We were brutally honest with our readers on social media. We owned the mistake completely. We gave our partners better terms on the reprint. By being transparent and taking responsibility, we earned something far more valuable in return: loyalty. Our partners stuck with us, and our readers respected our honesty.
Today, that typo is a scar I’m proud of. It reminds me that the biggest lessons don’t come from the wins; they come from the moments that bring you to your knees.
So, if you’re out there, terrified of making a mistake, just know that you will. And when you do, it won’t be the end. It might just be the beginning of your real education.
What’s a failure that taught you an unexpected lesson? I’d genuinely love to hear it in the comments.
Today, I don’t just publish books about mindset—I live it. And sometimes, that means embracing the ‘Maters’ along the way — the little mistakes that make us better.
