How to Conquer FEAR in Small Business
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One of the most common reasons people don’t find the success they want in small business is fear. They don’t always realize this, or may not want to admit it to themselves, but when they dig down deep and are really honest about why they’re not as successful as they’d like, the reasons are all fear-based.
They might be afraid of having their products or ideas criticized, they might not know how to do something technical and are afraid they’ll make a mistake, or their self-confidence may not be very high. Whatever the reason, that fear will continue to hold them back until they confront it and find a way to overcome it.
Does this sound familiar to you? That’s because fear is holding you back, even if you’ve never realized it before. We’re going to look at some ways you can conquer those fears and become more successful. But first, you need to have an understanding of just how important this is, that there are different types of fear, and that you can overcome your fear or at least channel it in more productive ways.
Fear of Failure
There are different types of fear to think about as it relates to your business. The fear of failure is probably the most prominent for you. The fear of failure holds you back and stops you from trying new things because you’re afraid it’s not going to work for you. You’re afraid of putting your time and your resources into something that ultimately might fail.
You have that initial excitement and you think you’re going to go for it. But then, the fear of failure sets in. You might not realize it, but it’s there. It’s something we all deal with, even the most successful people around. No one wants to fail, but it’s inevitable that we will. The question is how you handle it and what you do about it.
If you’re not sure you’re dealing with the fear of failure, there are some clues you can look to. For instance, do you find yourself getting excited about new projects but often stop yourself before you see true success? Do you consider projects failed and untouchable and won’t try them again, even if they were initially very important to you?
Are mistakes (even small ones) devastating to you or are they simply learning experiences? If they feel devastating and you’re terrified of trying new things, it’s very likely you’re dealing with a fear of failure. If your business can’t and hasn’t moved forward because of a mistake you’ve made or the fear of making a mistake, that’s a huge problem.
How do you get over a fear of failure? You’ll probably never get over it fully, to be honest with you… and nor would you want to. Even the most successful people are often afraid of failing. The difference is that they use that emotion to drive them into becoming even more successful– they don’t let it hold them back.
Fear is a natural emotion. It’s never about getting rid of your fear altogether because it can inspire you to do great things. It’s a problem, though, if you’re letting the fear of failing and making mistakes stop you from trying anything at all.
If you want to succeed in life and business, you don’t want to stop trying new things. You have to try new things and keep going until you’re successful with them, even after the initial excitement wears off. It’s time to step out of your comfort zone a little at a time so you can get used to the fear and how you’ll handle it in a more mature way.
If something is good for you and your business, then you ultimately need to push through the fear, knowing that you will make mistakes and you will sometimes fail, but that just means making small course adjustments rather than staying away from trying things altogether.
Fear of Success
Many people talk about the fear of failure, but very few people talk about the fear of success. Many people don’t even realize it’s possible to have a fear of success because of the very image the word “success” evokes. You want to be successful, right? So what is there to be fearful of if you do hit that jackpot?
The biggest and most deeply seated issue people have with success is change. You’re comfortable where you are right now. Even if you have problems and struggles, it’s what you’re used to. It’s a lot of fun to dream, but when it comes down to it, you’re never sure you can or even that you’re supposed to truly have success.
Also, those around you might not be encouraging or supportive of your dreams because they’re afraid that you’ll change (which of course you will), because then you might not have as much interest in activities that you’ve shared with them anymore. They might even believe that your dreams will come crashing down on you and hurt you, and they don’t want to see that happen to you. They’re comfortable in the status quo, and you want to rise above that, so sometimes you have to make some tough decisions, which is why you might have this fear of success.
Do you have a fear of success? Again, many people don’t realize they do so this isn’t something you’ll want to immediately dismiss. Do you tend to self sabotage as soon as you see some success? If you do that, and if you fail to reach for the stars in any way, then you probably do have this type of fear. It’s important that you start to notice these patterns in yourself.
So, how do you get over this?
Believe it or not, the fear of success can hold you back as much as or even more than the fear of failure. When you’re dealing with both of them, it’s easy to see why you’re stagnant in your business.
It’s time to let yourself continue to dream, but in a way that has you assuming what is possible and what you can actually bring to life. It might be that incremental changes in the right direction is what you need. Instead of dreaming about turning your business into a million dollar business, focus on the 5 or the 6 figures, first.
Fill your mind with positive success stories of those who’ve come from a similar place to where you are right now. Absorb their mindset and strategies. The more you fill your mind with their successes and the possibilities of your own success, the less “out there” it will seem that you can achieve.
When you’re ready for more success, the sky is the limit. You have to get to the point where you won’t self sabotage and where you truly believe you can have and that you deserve to have positive, sustained life change.
How Exciting New Ideas Turn Into Points of Fear
As humans, we tend to get excited about new ideas. We love the thought of doing, trying, and being something new. It’s partially because we are prone to hope. We feel like there’s always something bigger and better out there that’s going to allow us to achieve our dreams.
New ideas almost feel like a reward in a lot of ways. Consider the last time you really got excited about something. As soon as you heard the idea or came up with the idea, your mind leaped into action in the hopes of bringing it to life. You weren’t living the reality yet, but it started to become so clear and so real in the beginning that you could almost taste it. New ideas that we think are going to change our lives or business are addicting and exciting.
New ideas can trick you into feeling that this time, everything’s going to change. No matter whether you’ve tried and failed dozens or even hundreds of times in the past, you get a huge shot of adrenaline when you get a new idea you’re sure is going to change things. In those early moments of weighing the idea and turning it around slowly in your mind to admire its sparkle, you feel unstoppable.
You know that you’ve been through this before– you’ve had these feelings before. But, in those early moments, nothing else matters. All that matters is the hope you feel right now. It’s a feeling that’s almost like a drug.
It’s a fantastic thing to have new ideas. It’s a huge part of becoming successful in business. You always need ideas to get to the next level and really succeed. You need ideas to wow your customers and stand apart from the competition. New ideas are what keep you going. You won’t stop because you know that this could be the time that everything changes.
New ideas keep your business active. Your business will sink as if in quicksand if it stays stagnant for too long. Innovation gives you a lifeline. It gives you a path to freedom and happiness that’s unmatched. Or at least, it would if you were able to follow through with your ideas– if you were able to push past the fear and never let it run your life.
On the other hand, new ideas can be terrifying. There’s a point where that initial luster and shine wears off and you see your ideas for what they really are. That’s when it all starts to become a little too real. It’s fun and invigorating to dream, but there’s always something that stops you from turning what you dream about into reality.
There’s also the matter that having too many ideas at once can be distracting. Some people are idea people. They love to think of new ways to do things and new ways to make life better. Being an idea-person doesn’t always translate into being an action taker, though. If you have so many ideas swirling around in your head that you can’t focus on a single one, that’s a huge issue. It’s holding you back and making you even more fearful about your business, in the end.
When you have too many ideas in your mind, you’re on overload. It’s enough to shut you down- to paralyze you from taking any sort of action at all. You know that if you could just concentrate on implementing one at a time you’d be able to do it. There’s nothing scary or intimidating about that. There’s a lot intimidating about having so many ideas that you could never in a million years bring them all to life.
After the blissful haze of any new idea, after that initial buzz, fear and doubt set in more deeply than ever. It’s as if there’s an expiration date on any enthusiasm you’ve allowed yourself to feel. These changes, these new ideas, are now so scary and fill you so full of fear that you couldn’t possibly rock the boat now. Those million reasons why you can’t and shouldn’t follow through with your great ideas become prominent monsters you can’t ignore.
When the excitement and hope is gone, that leaves the door wide open for fear. You can typically only feel one dominant emotion at once. Where there used to be an empowered excitement is now just intimidated fear.
Having too much to do at one time short circuits the brain and leaves no room for anything but fear. What were you ever enthusiastic about, anyway? Why did you let yourself feel those positive emotions in the first place? Those are the things you’re asking yourself, anyway. Those messages and feelings of hope get dashed and pushed away by the fear and it doesn’t seem like there’s any way out. The hope and enthusiasm were fun while they lasted, weren’t they? Another dream gone when it shouldn’t be.
Bright Shiny Object Syndrome
It’s amazing to have ideas. It’s wonderful to have plans for your business that you’re sure are going to lead to a major difference in your success. What’s not so wonderful is when you wrongly abandon your used-to-be-great ideas for things that are bright and shiny, because of an undiagnosed sense of fear.
Do you have a problem following through? Do you get excited about new ideas, projects, and even business opportunities that put stars in your eyes… only to chase after the next best thing weeks or months later? You’re dealing with BSO’s (bright shiny objects).
This is something so many people deal with. We love ideas, we love seeing the successes of others, and we are always looking to model ourselves off of those who (we think) are doing better than we are. There are so many people out there selling business courses, new business models, and ideas. Some of this information is based on what has actually worked for people. But some of this information is based solely on theory.
You might actually be attracted to bright shiny objects because it appears that the person who created it is claiming that his or her method has been successful. This gives you confidence that if you just follow that path, you too will be successful. That takes away, to a large degree, the thought that you’ll fail, and your own idea hasn’t yet been proven to be fail-proof.
So chasing BSO’s is a way that you hope will avoid failure, but is really a way to procrastinate, a way to combat your fear of failure.
Or maybe it’s just that you see a competitor suddenly doing a lot better than you. Or maybe it’s that you’re bored with your current situation and just about anything looks more appealing. It might be that, if you’re being swayed away from your current business strategies, you’re suffering from BSO syndrome.
It’s one thing to constantly be on the lookout for great ideas and to be willing to try new things. If you want to thrive in business, you have to be ready to come up with new ideas and to try things even when it might be scary. The trouble comes when you’re attracted to doing things differently just because they are bright and shiny and you haven’t yet attached the feeling of fear to them. The trouble comes when you do things that aren’t necessarily going to positively impact your business and are only serving as a distraction.
There are distractions everywhere. These distractions are often very attractive because they take us away from what we’re supposed to be doing. Those things we’re supposed to be doing are often ho-hum and you’re sick of them.
Or, those things are solid plans and ideas you know you should be implementing but aren’t because you’re fearful. The fear tends to seep in and take over. It’s easier to jump from idea to idea without ever fully committing to anything than it is to stay the course until you’re very successful. It’s human nature to believe, even subconsciously, that other things are better than what you have right now. The trouble is that a lack of follow through and attention are going to relegate you to business failure, disaster, and frustration for as long as you allow it.
It’s like that old saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” Surely, these new BSO’s people are talking about or trying to sell you or that have gotten your attention in another way have to be better than what you’re dealing with right now, right? Maybe… but probably not. And if you never follow through you’ll never discover the answer to that question anyway.
The fact is that success always has bumps in the road. You’ve chosen your path for a reason– because you believe it’s going to work for you and your business. Sometimes, you’ll see other paths you could be taking instead. From a distance, these other paths seem to be paved with gold. They’re not– it’s an illusion. Some of those paths might be worth testing out in the future, but not until you’ve completed your journey on the path you’re on. Sometimes, your path might seem twisty and near impossible, but at the end of that path are rewards beyond what you’ve ever dreamed about.
We see other people on other paths. We see people having more or less success than we are. It’s hard to block out bright shiny objects because they are so eye catching. The path you’re on right now seems so long and winding and not at all shiny. The people selling the other paths might make it look easy but no one knows the full story. It’s only those who stay the course and complete their journey that see any rewards at all.
Part of the reason you’re always attracted to BSO’s is because of fear. You’ve chosen the original path you were on right for a reason, but the fear has set in. Those shiny objects take on a whole new luster right now so you give up and move on. You give up and move on again. And you repeat this pattern over and over again.
Dealing with fear is hard and scary. You give up on your plans because you’re fearful. You’re afraid you’re not going to be able to hack it and trying something new that you can really get excited about seems like the better option. But, that’s truly just the fear talking. You have to learn to quiet that voice.
We think a lot about avoiding distractions. We know we should work harder at it but it seems so hard. But, these aren’t the real issue– the fear is. If we could conquer the fear of success and the fear of failure, we would be able to avoid BSO’s and find success.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful? You’d be able to follow through and achieve your dreams. That’s something you can work hard to turn into your reality.
The first step is to identify that this is a problem for you. Identifying the problem can be very freeing. If you see a pattern in yourself that when the going gets tough, your mind wanders or you abandon ship, it’s time to right your course. You need to choose strategies and techniques that truly will transform your business. But then, you need to turn the distractions off. Don’t let fear push you away from follow through and success. Otherwise, you’ll be living a life of chasing BSO’s, being fearful of following through, and lacking the success you want to find.
How to Turn the Fear Off So You Can Succeed
It’s time to not only recognize your fear, but to take steps to be able to move past your fear whenever you need to. This is a skill that’s so important but few people ever master. I’d say that the majority of people, unfortunately, allow fear to rule their lives. Most of them don’t even recognize it. Of those who do recognize how much they are ruled by fear, very few of them know how to move past it. They think they are destined to live life this way. That’s not something you’re going to have to deal with yourself. You’re going to know how to turn the fear off so you can succeed.
The first step is to recognize the role of fear in your life. You need to be honest with yourself. Don’t just tell yourself that you’re immune to the effects of fear. You have to realize that it’s become a ruling force for you. If you can turn the fear off whenever you’d like, however, it loses its power. You’ll get into the habit of letting excitement, passion, and desire rule your life, rather than fear.
The next step for you might be journaling. There’s something incredible about getting your thoughts down on paper. This is a place where you can freewrite, letting your thoughts and feelings flow. It can take some soul searching before you can even start to be honest with yourself. Journaling can help you get there a whole lot faster. I suggest you set your timer for 20 minutes a day and journal about what’s holding you back, what you’re excited about, and what you’re fearful of. You’ll start to notice a lot of positive changes in your outlook, productivity, and focus once you start doing this. This works so well that I can guarantee that.
If you’re not yet familiar with freewriting, you can read more about it here, or just search Google for the term freewrite:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_writing
You can also turn off the fear and its ruling presence in your life by finding your Why. If your Why is strong, you’ll be unstoppable. This is something I talk about frequently because it’s so important. Yet, it’s something very few people take the time to figure out or to even understand.
Your Why is your reason for doing what you’re doing. It goes above and beyond money. What drives you? What do you feel is your purpose in life? Identify what drives you. Consider what’s bigger than yourself– your purpose. What are your hopes and dreams? What’s going to push you through no matter how scared you are because you’re so motivated to succeed?
Another way to turn the fear off is by looking for inspiring stories. If you know that others before you have been successful at whatever it is you want to do, it will help open your mind to the possibilities for yourself. There are many who’ve come before you who have pushed through their fear. They, too, have reached a point where they wondered if it was possible to keep on going. But they did and it really paid off for them.
You can find these inspiring stories online, in books, in mastermind groups, in forums and social media groups on the web, and more. Surround yourself with people and stories that are positive and will help you banish the hold fear has on your life. If you know that others before you have been successful, you are much more likely to believe that you too can be successful.
When you feel yourself pulling away and losing focus when you were originally so excited and sure about your path, you have to stop yourself and ask if it’s fear. You’ll get more and more used to doing this. If you can be aware of this and catch it, you can push past it. Identifying the problem of fear is a big part of the battle. Surrounding yourself with positivity and focusing on the outcomes you want (your reason Why) is the way you win the battle.
Fear is such a dominant emotion in your life. It’s important to find a replacement emotion to fill the void fear will leave. It might sound strange because fear is such a negative, but you might even miss it. There’s a certain comfort in old habits (such as giving in to fear) even if it’s not good for your life. You have to fill that void or it will overtake you again.
You know you feel fear and it’s okay to feel that, but you have to give yourself a replacement emotion as well. You can replace fear with hope. That’s the feeling you tend to have in the beginning of trying something new. But you have to be so sure you’re going to achieve your dreams that the hope lasts.
You can replace also fear with excitement. The trouble is that you have to hang on to the excitement beyond what you feel in the beginning. You have to be so passionate about your business that it excites you every day to work on it. If you don’t have that, it’s time to make some changes and commit yourself to finding that.
Don’t let fear take you over. You want other emotions to have room to shine through as well. Recognize the importance of this and focus on those emotions. You get to choose how you feel and which emotions you let through in your life. If you do that, fear won’t be such a dominant emotion.
Note that we’re not talking about eliminating all fear, forever. Fear can be motivating and helpful it its own way. It’s just that fear can be crippling when you allow it to rule your life. Don’t let it get to the point where it holds you back. Fear should be a motivational mechanism and a chance for you to evaluate your path and keep on going no matter what.
F.E.A.R and How to Beat It Now
There are lots of acronyms for the word FEAR:
- False Expectations Appearing Real
- Finding Excuses And Reasons
- Frantic Effort to Avoid Reality
- Forget Everything And Run
They pretty much all have something to do with finding excuses or creating a mental image of some negative outcome that may not even come to pass.
If you study how to overcome fear, you’ll see a lot of platitudes. Just get over it. Work through it. Don’t let it stop you.
Those things are all easy to say for someone who has already overcome the fear that you’re facing, but they don’t give you any practical way to actually implement them. I’m sure anyone who has faced their fear has thought to themselves “This is crazy, just get over it.”
That doesn’t really help though, does it? The fear is still there, and it still stops you from reaching that level of success that you want so badly.
I’ve been exactly where you are right now, so we’re going to go a little further than the usual “just get over it” type of advice. We’re going to create a new acronym – one that will hopefully help you bust through your fear and, in the immortal words of Nike, Just Do It:
F – Find a support group
E – Expand your reach
A – Aim for the next level
R – Repeat your successes
Find a Support Group
The main reason that most small business owners let fear hold them back – whether they do it consciously or not – is because they create these images in their mind of all the bad things that could happen as a result of taking action.
If you’re creating a new product or service, for instance, you might worry about things like:
- Will people like it?
- Am I going to get complaints on forums, social media, and other public places?
- What if people want a refund?
- What if another company does it better?
- What if I fail miserably at satisfying my customers?
Most of the time these fears are based on stuff you’ve read or horror stories you’ve allowed to build up in your mind. It can feel like the sky is falling.
Suddenly these totally random occurrences and setbacks seem like they’re happening a lot, and that just fuels the fear. One of the best ways to overcome this problem is to find a good support group or mentor you can bounce ideas off of to calm that voice of fear.
Your support group can come in several forms. It could be a group of like-minded business owners who work together to help one another with things like this. Or you might join a forum, usually a paid forum where the people tend to be more serious about helping one another, and having more patience, than they are in free forums. There are also plenty of groups with like-minded people on social media, like Facebook and LinkedIn.
It’s amazing how far a little positive feedback goes towards quelling the fear that you have about how people are going to react to what you’re offering. And even if you get some criticism, if you’re dealing with a supportive group of people it will be delivered constructively, not with guns blazing the way you sometimes see on public forums where most people are relatively anonymous.
When I wrote my first eBook “5 Bucks a Day” I was afraid that it would flop, that it would be ridiculed, and so I had decided to give it away for free. I figured that people can’t complain too much if they get something for free, right?
Well, I was in a great paid forum at the time, with very supportive members who reviewed my initial draft, gave me some constructive advice, and convinced me to resist the impulse to give the report away for free. So I decided to charge for it, and the result was a life-changing sequence of events, as well as a book that stills to this day, more than 8 years since it was published in 2006.
Expand Your Reach
Once you’ve gotten the help of your support group, you can start to expand your reach beyond the confines of that group.
The feedback you get from the first stage of this process will help build your confidence and make it easier to step out into the “great unknown.” At this point, you can choose to take smaller steps, widening your reach a little bit at a time, or you can jump in with both feet.
In many cases, your support group can help you with this stage as well.
For example, let’s say you were launching a new product and everyone who bought it during your “test marketing” stage thought it was really good. They gave you some suggestions for improvements and you had implemented those ideas into it.
Some of those people who helped you with the test marketing might be interested in promoting your product in exchange for a commission. You could set up a Joint Venture (JV) arrangement with a couple of them. Or form partnerships and collaborations with those in similar industries.
This would allow you to widen your reach a little bit without completely putting your neck on the line by launching it more publicly.
If you’re still struggling to get over the fear of getting started, this might sound pretty overwhelming. But the fact is, when you’re working with a supportive group of people, they are a lot more likely to help you out. It’s not always just about how much money they can make, they also remember what it was like when they were just getting started (and the fact is, some of them are probably still fighting the fear themselves).
Asking them for help isn’t like approaching potential JV partners “cold” – with no prior relationship and not a lot you can offer in return.
And launching a product of your own isn’t the only example where you can use this same basic strategy.
If your fear is based around the technical side of things – setting up your website, installing scripts, etc. – you can ask your support group questions and if they don’t know the answer, it’s quite possible they will know someone who does. If they’ve got more experience with that particular topic or any other, it’s pretty likely that they’ll be able to give you some helpful insights.
The key is to find people who have more experience than you do, but aren’t so far beyond the point you’re at that they’re pretty much unreachable.
Which brings us to our next stage…
Aim for the Next Level
As you expand your marketing and step outside your comfort zone a little more, you need to continue to take those steps. The thing to remember is that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your small business and getting over your fear probably won’t be either.
When you’re looking for ways to grow your business, it’s a good idea to aim a level or two up from where you are currently. Don’t aim for the stars right out of the gate, or some of those fears that are holding you back could be a little more likely to come to pass. I’m not saying to never aim big– but you have to train yourself to get over the fear first.
Maybe some of the people in your support group are further along than others and you can approach them for help. Or maybe some of those people know marketers and business owners with bigger lists or networks and can connect you with them.
Setting your expectations too high will leave you open to getting discouraged before you reach that point. Take it a step at a time, and you’re a lot less likely to run into the kinds of problems that your fears are making you worry about.
Set Realistic Expectations
It’s easy to get caught up in all the hype that comes through your inbox, promising thousands of visitors to your website or business every day, a huge email list and commissions coming in faster than you can imagine.
Even if you don’t actually believe the hype, it can have a negative effect on what you’re doing in the way of fear or unrealistic expectations.
All those claims of success work together to create a sense of “Why haven’t I reached that success yet?” which just fuels the fear that is holding you back.
If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend unsubscribing from as many email lists as you can, if they aren’t giving you value at least some of the time.
Stick with the lists that look out for you and your interests, not just theirs. Even marketers that send you frequent offers can be beneficial to you, if they give honest reviews, and look around for products that give high value, rather than just pushing the same high commission products as everyone else.
This will give you several benefits:
- Less temptation to buy the latest “shiny object”
- Less time spent sorting through junk mail
- More time for the important stuff
- Lets you set your goals and expectations based on reality, not some unknown marketer’s (probably embellished) results
Repeat Your Success
The final stage of our plan for overcoming fear is to repeat your success. This is really the point where the fear starts to seem a lot less intimidating, because you’ve already tasted success in some form or another.
A big part of fear is worrying about the things that “could” happen – most of which never do. Or if they do, they’re not nearly as bad as you build them up to be ahead of time.
Once you’ve seen some success, you start to realize that this is the case and taking the next step is a lot less difficult than taking the first one.
An important part of this process is to document what you’re doing as you’re doing it. That way when something works well, you have a record of exactly how you did it and you can go back and repeat it again and again, without having to think about it too much.
… sort of your own personal template for success, a.k.a. a system.
Having a system to follow will also help reduce fear because you don’t have to think about what to do next – you just follow your system. You won’t have to think about the individual details all the time. This helps reduce your fear because the steps are there– it feels a lot like a safety net. When something has already been proven to work, you can suspend the fear of whether it’s going to work the next time and just implement it.
Every time you repeat the process and are successful with it, you reinforce your confidence and gradually the fear becomes less overwhelming. It may never disappear completely (in fact it probably won’t) but you’ll find it easier to set it aside and do what you need to do.
What happens when something fails, you might be wondering?
The fact is you’re not going to be successful with every single product you release or project you take on in your business. Some products won’t sell as well as you’d like (or maybe hardly at all). Some websites just won’t get traffic and clicks no matter how hard you work at it.
As strange as it sounds, these failures will also help you to overcome the fear that you feel. Sure, some of those fears might come to fruition when you face a failure – but you’ll also see that failure is hardly ever as bad in reality as you build it up to be in your mind.
As I’ve said many times, failure is your friend. You learn to meet it head on, and learn a new and valuable lesson every time you do so, and that’s a good thing.
Maybe you spent several days or even weeks creating a new product and it fell flat when you launched it. You probably aren’t getting lambasted all over the forums in your market and you’re probably not getting angry phone calls all hours of the day and night, complaining about how bad it was. Maybe you learned that you need to do some smaller scale testing before investing too much time in a new product. Find the silver lining.
There is always something positive to take from a failure, and the fear you feel about it before it actually happens is almost always a lot worse than reality.
Identifying Your Larger Purpose
We’ve talked a little about this already, but let’s go deeper now. It’s time to make this even more of a priority because I don’t want the fear to ever keep you down again. If you’re sure about your purpose and priorities, the fear can’t and won’t keep you down.
You are here for a reason. You’re here to change your life and the lives of others. You aren’t just trying to make money. Yes, you have to set monetary goals and achieving those goals can change your life in amazing ways. But, you have to realize that chasing the money alone hasn’t worked for you yet. You’re still fearful and struggling. You’re still swayed by distractions instead of staying the course and seeing the true kind of success you want to see.
If you have a true purpose, it will shine through in your business. Your true purpose will shine more brightly than your fear. So, what do you care about the most? If you were already extremely wealthy and never had to worry about money again, what kind of work would you be doing?
What’s going to get you excited and passionate again… so much so that the fear is no longer dominant? It’s going to be so freeing.
What makes you different? You owe it to your audience and customers to get to the point where you know exactly what that is and what your larger purpose is.
Digging Deep
It’s time to dig deep to identify what you really want and exactly what the fears are that are holding you back. This isn’t something you can or should figure out in just a few minutes or probably even a few days. This is something you’re going to focus on regularly from this point forward.
Identify what you want out of your business and whether you’re truly on the right path. If you’re not feeling focused and fulfilled in your business, it might not be fear that’s holding you back– it might be that this isn’t what you’re meant to be doing after all. But, if you are doing what you’re meant to be doing, then you need to ask yourself if you’re truly done chasing bright shiny objects.
Are you really ready to move past the fear? I don’t want this to be just another book you read and feel good about… only to set it aside because you don’t want to go through the soul-searching process this requires. You have to be willing and ready to dig deep.
If you know what you want and you’re prepared to go for it, the fear doesn’t matter. That’s the power of motivation and true purpose. If you’ve never felt that before, you’re in for a very positive surprise because it really is that powerful.
It’s time to identify the exact fears that are holding you back. Once you identify those fears, think about the true impact they have on your life. What is the worst case scenario when it comes to what you fear? When you really break it down, it’s probably true that even the worst case isn’t so bad after all. Fear builds up like a monster. By examining it from this angle you can move past it.
It’s time to build yourself up to the point where it doesn’t matter what happens because you’re so strong in life and business that nothing can knock you down for long. You’re still going to be standing even if your worst case scenario happens. This is not a catastrophe– nothing you’re facing truly is.
You also have to realize that your past is your past. I don’t care how many times you’ve failed and let fear get in the way, that’s not going to happen anymore.
You’re the leader of a small business– an entrepreneur. You’re in a unique position to create exactly the kind of life you want to create. You’re now fully recognizing your fear and how it’s holding you back. Whether it’s the fear of success or the fear of failure.
Don’t expect an overnight change. This is something you’ll work on for a while. You probably feel invigorated and changed right now, as you read this. But, you don’t want to fall back into bad habits and leave the door open for the fear to creep back in. You need to go through this process on a regular basis or it won’t take hold. It takes a while to change your habits, but there’s no time to start like the present. Leave the past in the past and start moving toward your future.
How Fear Can Creep Back In
You have to be aware that the fear can creep back in– even if you’re doing a lot of work to try to ensure that doesn’t happen. The great news is that now you know exactly how to deal with it– you’ll never let it hold you down again.
Don’t think you’re immune. Again, it takes a while to change old habits. Even if you make a solid effort to change your strategy and mindset right now, the fear might creep back in.
We are human and therefore fallible. We want to seek pleasure and avoid pain. But, we often become comfortable in our fear. Sometimes, it’s more comfortable to be fearful, stuck in the same old place as always. It’s time to get uncomfortable with that because it’s simply not healthy.
Do you identify with that? You want a better life but those old patterns might come back. That’s why they are patterns. It takes around one month to develop new habits. You have to retrain your brain. Every time you feel fearful or put yourself and your business down, learn to acknowledge and dismiss the thought as wrong.
Know that the fear is clouding your internal vision. The more aware of this you are, the easier it will be. If you think something like. “I’m not good enough” or “this won’t work” it’s time to change.
It helps if you choose a path you know is solid and stick to it. Commit yourself to it. Tell yourself you won’t get off the path for at least 30 days. Make sure it fits into your overall mission, reason Why, and passion. Fill your mind with success stories and positivity and release all negativity and fear won’t have a hold on you anymore.
Conclusion
Overcoming fear is a difficult thing for most small business owners, and it’s probably the biggest thing holding most people back from the success they want. Most of the excuses you come up with – I don’t know enough about topic xyz, I can’t pick a good idea, etc. – all come down to fear, when you get to the root of it.
Much of what you read about overcoming fear is really little more than platitudes, and while it may help some people there are lots more that are looking for a practical plan to implement.
If that’s you, hopefully the plan we’ve discussed is going to set you on the path to overcoming that fear. I look forward to hearing your success story!
