What to do when you totally screw something up.
So what do you do when you blow it?
Look—we all screw things up. I don’t care how smart, strategic, or spreadsheet-savvy you are. You’re going to misread the market, hire the wrong person, skip leg day, send an email to the wrong “Mike,” or pour a bunch of time and money into something that no one wants (ask me about our EA SOPs launch sometime 
).
In real life? We call it Wednesday or hump day if you’re that guy…
In video games, we call it a respawn.
At some point, they all crashed, burned, and/or faceplanted spectacularly… and then got back up again.
What do video games, Michael Scott, and my last “brilliant” business idea have in common?
You respawn. But not just reset—you revise.
Real-Life Respawn
Hey, it’s not about perfection. It’s about persistence.
If life were a video game, we’d all be on our 147th continue by now. And that’s okay. Because every time you respawn, you learn the level a little better.
So here’s how to hit continue with purpose instead of rage-quitting your business/life/plan after a bad day.
5 Steps to a Real-Life Respawn (No Extra Lives Required)
1. Take a Pause
Take a Deep breath. Don’t panic. Center yourself.
Your screw-up might feel like a final boss fight—but chances are, it’s just a side quest gone wrong.
99% of the time you can take 24 hours to step back. No overreacting. No spiraling. Just space to stop the bleeding and clear your head.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve said something stupid when you were angry…usually to a 7 year old mini-you…can’t remember to brush his teeth…but remembers every curse word that I muttered under my breath…
“Never make a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion.” said every Jedi Master…at least probably.
2. Watch the Replay
What actually went wrong?
Was it a strategy error? A people problem? A “this sounded better in my head” situation?
Get honest. Not mean. Not dramatic. Just honest.
I cannot tell you how many times I put an employee in a bad spot by being an awful boss…no systems, not enough training, not enough resources, etc…I used to think the problem was all of them…since I realized it was me it’s been WAY better.
Sometimes the issue is obvious (like launching a product no one asked for). Other times it takes digging.
The goal: Find the root cause, not the most convenient scapegoat.
3. Own It (Then Share It)
There is power in saying: “Yep. That was on me.”
Clients, team members, even you respect that more than spin. Nobody trusts a leader who acts like they’ve never made a mistake (especially if it’s at a Coldplay concert).
And if you’re brave enough to share your failure publicly—hello, vulnerability marketing—you’ll attract people who trust your transparency.
I have lost at least $100,000 (and counting) by not reading a contract carefully enough…it sucks. It really sucks. But guess who reads EVERY contract now and is better for it?
4. Make a Micro-Fix
Don’t try to rebuild the whole system overnight. That’s how you end up bleary eyed at 2am like some techno-zombie and questioning your career.
Instead, ask: What’s one small change that gets me 5% closer to success next time?
Maybe it’s a better SOP. A tighter deadline. Clearer delegation. A short checklist.
In Mario Kart, sometimes all you need is one good drift to catch up again. In business, same thing.
5. Hit Continue
Pick up the controller and get back in. AND ACTUALLY BE BETTER AND MAKE THE CHANGES ABOVE.
I cannot stress this enough…if nothing changes, nothing will change. The easiest thing you can do is change yourself or at least do the things you said you would do (like me and a diet for the 1,000,000th time)
You learned. You leveled up. You are now 38% less likely to make that same mistake again…hopefully…I did make that up.
You can’t iterate if you don’t keep playing.
As James Clear says, every system is perfectly designed to get the results it’s currently getting. If you want different results—change the system, not your self-worth.
The Takeaway: Failure isn’t the end. It’s the next level.
You’re going to mess up. That’s not a character flaw. That’s the tutorial.
So don’t give up. Don’t play small. Don’t pretend you’re perfect.
Fail. Learn. Fix. Try again. And when you get it right—it’ll be because you got it wrong first.
Until then, keep your head up, your respawn timer short, and your heart open to the lesson.