After he retired from the Navy and before I knew him my father in law tried his hand at a string of businesses trying to get out of the life of a musician...he was working at Rosie O&#x27;Grady&#x27;s and he swore that his first grandchild, Jon, would never see him slide down a fire pole. So he and Larry, another retired from the Navy musician, decided to start a band camp on some land in St. Cloud with the sensible idea that Disney would be a draw for High School bands.<p>They were undercapitalized as most businesses are and went under. 1970&#x27;s interest rates didn&#x27;t help nor did the 1970&#x27;s economy and St. Cloud was still the boondocks and brutally hot and humid in the Summer months. Years later when he told me about it, he said:<p><pre><code>  We didn&#x27;t lose our shirts, 
  but our sleeves were shorter.
</code></pre>
He wasn&#x27;t hung up on sunk cost and quickly found a path to success elsewhere. He&#x27;s eighty now and Larry remained a friend until Larry died a few years ago. Though they never did business together again. Maybe it worked out because Larry was a hell of a lot nicer than my father in law, maybe it was just that they both realized that there was nothing worth fighting over. Maybe they both realized that it wasn&#x27;t anyone&#x27;s fault and shit happens.<p>Anyway, the most valuable thing a person can walk away from failure with is their values intact.<p>Good luck.