This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Crickets chirping] [Music]
Guess what week it is? It is in fact, the week known as, what is it called? Is there a name for this week? Bunch of holidays occurring in this week. Of course, we've already had some other holidays and we'll have some more coming up.
So whatever holiday you celebrate, I always wish you joy. And I'm so grateful for you. Tuning in to Side Hustle School, thanks for being out there. So as mentioned, 23rd of December. And this episode in particular is our failure Friday segment.
Comes out every Friday, regardless of the date, regardless of the holiday. And that's because failure is so important. I believe we can learn as much from failure as we can from success. It's been one of our most popular weekly features this year. And what is failure Friday?
Well, I'm glad you ask. It is a collection of short stories about mistakes, missteps, disasters, and of course, failure. Okay, so we've had all kinds of these throughout the year. Stories tend to vary, but often there's an idea, an assumption, and then what happens in actual reality. And of course, whatever you learn through the process.
Today's short story, however, features a very special color. I think that's probably all I want to say about it, or at least most I want to say about it. We've actually heard from this color before in a couple of previous years with various issues. Last year, he was experiencing a supply chain crisis. I think he made it through.
He had a public health crisis the year before that. Just all kinds of stuff happening. This year, though, he's gonna tell a story of his early days, okay? So it is a failure story, but of course, he's still going strong, so he must have overcome. Anyway, I think it's best for you to hear from him directly.
So let's hand it over to our very special caller. [Music]
Hi, Chris. My name is Chris as well. You featured me on the show a couple of times before. Last year, we talked about the global supply chain crisis that was endangering my annual deliveries.
The year before, it was COVID. All those kids with hand sanitizer for stocking stuffers. I'm glad we're past that. This time, I thought I'd tell you a story for failure Friday. You see, even though my seasonal side hustle is a smooth, fueled by cookies operation these days, it wasn't always that way.
In my early years, I got tired of working with helpers and tried to do it all on my own. The reindeer had formed a union and were starting to make demands. They wanted a 15-minute break after every 10,000 stops, and there just isn't time for that. So I set out to do all my deliveries solo. I fired Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen.
They weren't playing well together anyway. But then Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen got on my nerves as well. So they were out. And let's not even talk about the most famous reindeer of all. He was a bit of a diva, a pain in the sash, you might say.
But of course, you know what happened next. Even though it's sometimes hard to work with others, even the Great Claws can't do everything on his own. Very soon, into my annual work retreat, I realized I've made a terrible miscalculation. The sleigh got bogged down in Sweden and couldn't see my way down to Denmark. This was a disaster.
So how did I fix it? Well, I didn't, because I'm too stubborn. But thankfully, Mrs. Claws got on Upwork and hired back all the reindeer. Yes, even that Rudolph guy.
What can I say? His light does come in handy. We all agreed to resume union negotiations right after the big job was over. And then we got to work doing what we all do best. The lesson I learned from this failure is that we can't do it all on our own.
That's why we need Dasher and Dancer and all the others. We even need ShipStation and Talkspace and the all-new Hyundai Tucson with available wireless device charging. Sorry, Chris. I hope I'm not stepping on your toes. Anyway, happy holidays, everyone.
I've got a lot to do in the next few days, so I'll sign off for now. [Music]
Well, you know the theme of Failure Friday, never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. I'm so glad our special caller was able to overcome that hardship and get back in business. So a big thanks to the other Chris in Finland for sharing this story. His website is down for maintenance as he prepares for the busiest day of the year, but maybe he'll be on TikTok soon or Mastodon or whatever social network is out next month.
Who knows? Today's show notes, sidehustleschool.com/2183/2183. Happy holidays to all, wherever you are in the world. And I'm gonna sign off now. My name is Chris Guillebeau.
This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
