The Sweet Spot | Vol. 1 · Issue 021 · November, 9th 2026

The Sweet Spot | Vol. 1 · Issue 021 · November 9, 2026

THIS WEEK IN THE SWEET SPOT — Fail Small. Learn Fast. Pivot With Purpose.

What if failure isn't the opposite of success, but one of the most valuable ways we learn how to get there?

🌿 The Sweet Spot · Vol. 1 · Issue 021 · November 9, 2026

Pivot With Purpose · Career Strategy · Macro Clarity · Myrtus

THIS WEEK IN THE SWEET SPOT

What If Failure Is Actually an Opportunity?

Last week, we talked about the blank canvas and how the same situation can represent endless possibilities to one person and uncertainty to another. This week, I want to take that idea a little further and talk about something that often prevents us from putting anything on that canvas in the first place - failure.

It is a word that makes people uncomfortable. Nobody wants to fail an examination, lose a client, have a business idea fall apart or discover that something they worked hard to achieve didn't turn out as planned. We tend to think of failure as a negative outcome, something embarrassing, disappointing or even permanent but what if we changed the way we think about it?

What if failure is simply information that helps us make a better decision next time?

Think about taking a professional certification examination. You study, you prepare, you sit for the examination and perhaps you don't pass. That can be disappointing, especially when you've invested time, money and effort into preparing but consider what happened You attempted something difficult. You discovered that your preparation wasn't sufficient in certain areas, and you now have more information about what you need to learn and here's something else worth remembering: unless you choose to tell people, the result is generally between you and the examining organization.

You can study again. You can change your approach. You can retake the examination, subject to the examining body's rules. The experience might feel like a failure, but it doesn't have to become your identity. (Don’t be so hard on yourself.)

I think we give failure far too much power over our decisions. We imagine what other people will think, how embarrassing something might be or what happens if we don't succeed immediately. Sometimes we become so focused on avoiding a negative outcome that we never attempt the thing we wanted to do and that creates a different kind of risk.

The risk of never discovering what might have been possible.

There is an important distinction between taking a calculated risk and being reckless. I'm not suggesting that anyone should gamble their savings, leave a job without considering their financial responsibilities or take unnecessary risks simply to prove they aren't afraid.

I'm suggesting something much smaller. What if you deliberately created opportunities to fail when the consequences are manageable?

Some examples include:

-          Make the uncomfortable phone call.

-          Ask the question you think everyone else already knows the answer to.

-          Apply for a position that stretches your capabilities.

-          Try selling a small service before investing in an entire business.

You might discover that your idea needs work, your message isn't clear or you need more experience. That isn't necessarily bad news. You've learned something while the cost of learning is still relatively small.

Make tiny mistakes early, learn from them and use what you discover to avoid much larger mistakes later.

You also have more control over how you define failure than you might realize. You may not control the result, but you can decide what that result means for your next step. You can decide that an unsuccessful attempt is the end of the story, or you can decide that it is feedback and sometimes, the most valuable thing you learn is that you don't actually want what you thought you wanted. That's useful information, too.

The objective isn't to become comfortable with losing. It's to become more comfortable with learning; the people who eventually find a direction that works for them often have something in common: they were willing to try, discover what didn't work and adjust.

Failure doesn't have to move you farther away from what you want; sometimes it gives you the information you need to move closer.

THIS WEEK'S COMPASS

Follow the Money, but Understand That Jobs May Take Time

Two new conditional loan commitments from the Office of Strategic Capital point toward expanding U.S. industrial capacity: up to $450 million for drone manufacturer Neros and $150 million for space-radar company LeoLabs, alongside planned private capital. These commitments are not closed loans or guarantees of employment, but they suggest where future demand for manufacturing, engineering, procurement, cybersecurity, operations and supplier-management capabilities may develop.

Meanwhile, ADP reported 86,000 private-sector jobs added in October, even as natural resources and mining lost approximately 8,000 positions and professional and business services lost 27,000. The Department of Energy is also advancing critical-minerals workforce development through its PROSPECT Implementation Prize, offering up to $70 million to expand mining and critical-minerals education.

The message for anyone thinking about a career change is that investment and hiring don't always happen at the same time, but following where capital is moving can help identify which capabilities may become more valuable.

The Myrtus perspective: Don't confuse an investment announcement with a job opening; use it as a reason to investigate, learn and prepare.

SECTION 01

What Would You Try If You Weren't Afraid to Fail?

I want to challenge you to think about something this week. What have you always wanted to try in your career, but haven't because you're afraid of what might happen if it doesn't work?

-          Maybe you've considered starting your own business but worry nobody will buy what you're offering.

-          Maybe you hate cold calling, so you've avoided contacting people who could introduce you to a new industry.

-          Perhaps you've wanted to move into sales but worry about rejection, or you've thought about returning to school but are afraid you won't do well.

-          It could be something as simple as speaking up during meetings, attending a networking event alone or applying for a position that feels slightly beyond your experience.

These things can feel intimidating because we tend to imagine the outcome before we've even taken the first step.

We picture the failed business, the rejected proposal, the unsuccessful interview or the examination we didn't pass but what if we made the first attempt so small that an unsuccessful outcome wouldn't be particularly costly?

Instead of asking, "What if I fail?" ask, "What is the smallest way I can test this idea?"

If you want to start a business, you don't necessarily need to build a website, rent an office or spend thousands of dollars developing a product. You might start by talking to five potential customers and asking whether they need what you're thinking about offering. If you're afraid of sales, perhaps you could start by practicing a short introduction with someone you trust, then make one phone call.

If you're considering a career change, you don't need to resign from your current position to explore a new industry. You could attend a free event, take an introductory course or ask someone about their experience and if you're worried about failing an examination, take a practice test. Discover what you don't know while the stakes are low.

The first attempt doesn't have to be perfect. Remember, you're collecting information, building experience and learning what works.

The Value of a Quick Pivot

There's another part of failure that I think we often overlook. Sometimes we recognize that something isn't working, but continue doing it because we've already invested so much time or effort. We've all experienced this in one form or another. Maybe we keep sending the same résumé despite getting no interviews. Perhaps we spend months developing a product before asking whether anyone wants it. Or we continue using a study method even though the material isn't sticking. At some point, persistence can become less useful than changing direction.

That doesn't mean giving up every time something becomes difficult. Some things genuinely require patience, repetition and sustained effort. However, there is a difference between practicing something that is improving and repeatedly doing something that isn't producing useful progress.

A pivot isn't necessarily abandoning your goal; sometimes it's changing how you intend to reach it.

Try something; look at what happened, ask what you learned and then make an adjustment. You don't have to throw away the entire plan because one part didn't work and you certainly don't have to wait until you've invested six months or six years before asking whether your approach needs to change. Small experiments allow you to make those decisions earlier, when you still have room to maneuver.

SECTION 02

Redefining What Success Looks Like

One of the most useful changes we can make is to separate the outcome of an attempt from the value of attempting it. Consider someone who wants to become more comfortable with networking. They attend an industry event and introduce themselves to three people. None of those conversations leads to a job interview, business opportunity or new client.

Was the evening a failure? If the only measure of success was securing a job or signing a client, perhaps it would feel that way.

-          What if the goal was to practice introducing yourself, learn something about an unfamiliar industry and become more comfortable speaking to people?

By that measure, the evening may have been a success. The important thing is to be clear about what you're trying to learn. You don't have to pretend an unsuccessful outcome is something it isn't. Losing money, failing an examination or being turned down for a job can have real consequences. Disappointment is normal and an outcome doesn't have to define everything about the experience.

Perhaps you discovered that your professional introduction needs work. Maybe you learned that a particular industry isn't what you expected. Or you realized that the technical requirements for a position are different from what you assumed.

Those are useful discoveries. There is a wonderful freedom in recognizing that you can set small, realistic measures of progress.

-          A successful week might be making one call you've been putting off.

-          It might be learning how to explain your business idea in two sentences.

-          It might be identifying one weakness in your preparation and understanding how to improve it.

You don't need to succeed at everything you try but learn from what you try.

Perhaps even most importantly, you don't need an audience for every attempt. Not everything needs to be announced on LinkedIn, shared with friends or explained to your colleagues. Some of your most important learning may happen quietly, through the experiments you choose to make for yourself.

SECTION 03

The 5-Pomodoro Challenge: Make Failure Smaller

This week, we're going to turn the idea of failing small into something practical. Take five 25-minute sessions, with five-minute breaks between them, or spread the sessions across November. The objective isn't to reinvent your career in a single week. It's to identify something you've been avoiding and design an experiment small enough that you're willing to try it.

POMODORO 01 · WRITE DOWN WHAT SCARES YOU

Take out a blank sheet of paper and write down three things you've wanted to try but have avoided because you were worried about failing. Perhaps it's cold calling, sales, starting a business, taking an examination, applying for a different role or asking someone for an introduction. Don't judge the answers. Just write them down. Then circle one that matters to you.

POMODORO 02 · UNDERSTAND THE FEAR

Look at the item you circled. What specifically are you worried will happen? Are you afraid of rejection? Embarrassment? Losing money? Discovering you aren't as prepared as you thought?

Write down the feared outcome and ask whether it's a realistic consequence or something you've imagined. Identify what is at stake and what you could do to limit the downside.

POMODORO 03 · MAKE THE EXPERIMENT SMALLER

Break your idea into the smallest practical action. If you're afraid of cold calling, practice your introduction first. If you're considering a business, ask one potential customer a question. If an examination worries you, complete ten practice questions. Make the action inexpensive, reversible where possible and small enough that you're comfortable learning from the result.

POMODORO 04 · TRY IT

This is where the planning becomes an action. Make the call. Ask the question. Attempt the practice examination. Share the idea with someone who might provide useful feedback.

Don't spend the entire session trying to make everything perfect. Give yourself permission to attempt something before you feel completely ready.

POMODORO 05 · LEARN AND PIVOT

Return to your original piece of paper. What happened? Was the outcome as frightening as you imagined? What worked, what didn't and what would you do differently?

Identify one adjustment you can make before trying again. At the end of five Pomodoros, you may not have achieved the outcome you originally wanted. You may have discovered that your idea needs work or that you want to take an entirely different approach.

The important part is that you will have something you didn't have when you started = experience and that's worth more than another week spent wondering what might happen.

SECTION 04

AI That Helps

Use AI to Make the Scary Things Smaller

One of the things I enjoy about AI is that it can help us think through problems differently.

It doesn't have to make decisions for us, and it certainly doesn't know everything. Sometimes its most useful contribution is simply helping us identify a question we haven't considered. This week, I want you to try using AI in two ways.

1.      First, ask it to make something complicated feel less intimidating.

2.      Second, ask it to challenge your plan so you can identify potential problems before they become expensive mistakes.

AI PROMPT · EXPLAIN IT LIKE I'M FIVE

"I'm interested in trying [describe your career goal or activity], but I'm nervous because [describe what scares you].

Explain how to approach this as if you were teaching a kindergartener something new for the first time. Use simple language, remove unnecessary complexity and break the process into five small steps. Help me identify the easiest first step I could complete in 25 minutes with little or no financial risk. Explain what I could learn even if my first attempt doesn't work. Don't give me a motivational speech. Help me make the task feel practical, manageable and less intimidating."

Why try this? Sometimes we make things more complicated than they need to be.

We imagine every step of starting a business before we've spoken to a single potential customer. We think about every possible interview question before we've even applied for the job.

Asking AI to simplify the process can help us see that the first step may be much smaller than the entire challenge we've imagined.

AI PROMPT · HELP ME FAIL BEFORE I ACTUALLY FAIL

"I'm considering trying [describe your career goal, business idea or project].

I want to understand how this could go wrong before I invest significant time, money or effort. Identify seven realistic reasons this idea might fail.

For each potential failure, explain:

Help me work backward from the possible failures to create a practical, low-risk first step. Challenge my assumptions rather than simply agreeing with my plan. Be clear about what you cannot know without additional information." I particularly like this second exercise because it changes the role of failure. Instead of something to fear, failure becomes something we can investigate.

Maybe AI identifies a risk you already understand. Perhaps it suggests something that doesn't apply to your circumstances. Or maybe it introduces a question that hadn't occurred to you. That's where the value comes from. AI doesn't have all the answers, and its suggestions need to be challenged, especially where money, regulations or significant career decisions are involved but it can help us think more broadly.

-          Sometimes identifying a potential mistake before making it is the most useful outcome of all.

Use AI to help you think through the possibilities, then use your own judgment and real-world experience to decide what to do.

SECTION 05

Recharge

🏈 THE DARE: GO WATCH A GAME

For those of us in the United States, it's football season and while we've spent this week talking about failure, learning and pivoting, I think there's a wonderful lesson waiting for us on a playing field. So this week's Recharge challenge is simple.

Go watch a game.

It doesn't have to be professional football or even college football. It could be your child's soccer game, a neighborhood basketball competition, a high school football game or a local team you've never watched before.

You don't have to understand every rule or know anyone playing. Just go, be social and enjoy being part of something happening in your community. While you're there, take a moment to think about what you're watching.

Athletes make mistakes all the time. (A quarterback throws an interception. A basketball player misses a free throw. A soccer player misses a goal. A runner stumbles.) Sometimes an entire team loses despite weeks of preparation and practice but that isn't necessarily where the story ends.

They go back to practice. They review what happened. They work on their weaknesses, adjust their strategy and prepare for the next game. Some go on to win. Others don't. But every game offers another opportunity to learn and here's what I find interesting.

We accept that athletes need practice, coaching, experience and repeated attempts to improve. We don't generally expect someone to become an excellent athlete simply by reading a book about the sport.

Yet in our careers, we sometimes expect ourselves to know how to do something before we've ever tried it. We worry about making mistakes in presentations, interviews, business development or unfamiliar work. Why should learning in our careers be so different from learning on a playing field?

Go enjoy the game. Cheer for someone. Support a local team and perhaps strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to you. You might leave feeling refreshed, connected to your community and a little more willing to try something that doesn't come naturally.

Because even the best athletes miss shots. What matters is what they learn before taking the next one.

YOUR PRACTICE

One Small Assignment

01 · Write down what scares you.

Identify three career-related things you've wanted to try but have avoided because you're worried about failing.

02 · Choose one small experiment.

Circle one item and find a way to test it without taking a significant financial or professional risk.

03 · Make it easier.

Use AI to simplify the first step or help you understand what could go wrong before you begin.

04 · Try something this week.

Make the call, ask the question, take the practice test or start the conversation you've been putting off.

05 · Learn and adjust.

Write down what happened, what you learned and what you would do differently next time.

06 · Recharge with your community.

Watch a local sporting event, support a team and remember that even experienced athletes make mistakes, practice and keep improving.

Fail Small. Learn Fast. Move With Purpose.

I want to leave you with one thought this week. We spend so much of our lives trying to avoid failure that we sometimes forget how much of what we know came from things that didn't work the first time. Think about the skills you've developed, the jobs you've held, the people you've met and the decisions you've made. Some of your most valuable lessons probably didn't come from the moments when everything went exactly as planned. They came from difficult projects, uncomfortable conversations, unexpected outcomes and decisions you might make differently today. Those experiences helped shape your judgment and they may have helped you discover what you actually want.

So as we move through November, I encourage you to stop thinking about failure as a verdict on your abilities or your future.

Instead, think of it as part of the process of getting better.

-          You can try something and decide it isn't for you.

-          You can make a mistake and change your approach.

-          You can fail an examination and prepare to take it again.

-          You can explore a business idea and discover that the market wants something different.

None of these experiences has to define you. What matters is what you choose to do with what you've learned. Last week, we talked about the blank canvas. This week, I want you to put something on it. It doesn't have to be beautiful. It doesn't even have to be right. It just has to be a beginning.

Because sometimes the quickest way to discover what works is to stop being so afraid of discovering what doesn't.

🌿 THE SWEET SPOT

Read the signal. Find your position. Move with purpose.

Myrtus

Career insights for people who want to pivot with purpose.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, accounting, cybersecurity or professional career advice. Market information is time-sensitive and may change after publication. Government financing announcements, including conditional commitments, do not guarantee project completion or future employment.