This is a love note for all of you A+ students out there.

If you’re used to doing things right the first time, getting the A+, impressing the teacher, and winning the awards, this is for you.

When you start moving out of your comfort zone (whether in business, leadership, or a creative pursuit) and into the next stage of growth, you need to know that chances are it won’t be smooth sailing.

You’re going to have to get used to getting Cs and Ds, and definitely some Fs too.

There’s just no other way around it.

School often does a good job of training us to study for the test, to know the right answers so we can get the As.

Business, on the other hand, doesn’t allow you to just study for the test. You create the test. You have to experiment and blow up a few beakers in order to get your answers.

I realize this is a tough thing to accept if you’ve been a “good student” your whole life. Showing up to your first tradeshow and having it flop, or opening the doors to your course and not getting a single sale is super painful. But it’s part of the deal of creating and growing a business, and there's a TON of learning that happens in those experiences.

The great news is that once you know that failure is part of how you “get there,” you can begin to welcome it.

You can start to look at it as a grand experiment. You can put on your scientist’s lab coat and goggles and start to get your hands dirty. The more you experiment, the more you learn, and the closer you’ll get to the outcome you were hoping to achieve.

But don’t expect As from the get-go. Welcome the Fs, because often that's where the really good data comes from.

Aim for progress over perfection.

Know that you’ll continually get better and refine your process. And once you’ve finally hit the A+, it won’t be because you knew how to study the chapter for the test. It will be because you’ve written your own damn book.

The A isn’t the goal, the learning is what matters.