The first time we put our business out to the world, we we’re scared.
Seconds before delivering our first event we were all white in the face because, we were scared.
When we hit go on our first online program, guess what; we were scared.
Like shit scared.
Okay, can we all please breathe a sigh of relief now that that’s out there? Being scared is a natural part of business.
We’ve noticed something lately that’s been really bothering us. We’re in the world of entrepreneur education, but we hardly ever see people in this space having conversations about fear and business.
We’re here to change that because we’re all about being real; and fear is real, essential, and it can be a bit of a minefield at times.
Fear is the biggest business killer out there. Yep you heard us right; not start-up capital, not Facebook algorithms (although they’re a pain in the ass), just good old-fashioned fear.
Every good idea ever was accompanied by a serious side helping of fear. In many cases, that fear may have almost stopped the ‘creator’ behind it from pursuing the idea in the first place. Fear can be super convincing at the best of times, so it’s super important to understand what it is, where it’s coming from, and how to deal with it when it comes up in business.
Fear is our bodies in-built alarm system.
It sounds when it thinks we are in a place where we haven’t been before, and does so to keep us safe. Feeling fear is essentially the equivalent of our body holding up a massive ‘TURN BACK TO SAFETY’ sign; super handy when we’re in legitimate danger, less handy when we’re trying to start a business.
If you’re someone who wants to grow and evolve, start a business, or head in a new direction with your business – you’re going to come face to face with fear, probably for the rest of your life. Before you throw up your notepad and pen in frustration because we’ve talked a lot about fear but only really told you that you’re going to experience it forever… bear with us and read the next line.
If you’re experiencing fear, you’re growing.
If fear is just our bodies way of warning ourselves that we might be in danger, you’re probably at the edge of your comfort zone, which means you’re about to experience some serious growth. It means you’re pushing the boundaries; you’ve probably had a new game-changing idea, you’re taking to the stage for your first talk, or you’re about to meet with your first corporate client. YAAAS go you good thing!
THIS is why fear and business come hand in hand. Without fear, there is no growth, development or progression.
OKAY BUT we get that you don’t feel like fist pumping when you feel fear. That’s probably the last thing on your agenda, right behind quit, turn back, give up, and ‘go and get a normal job’. So here’s some #realtalk that might help with that.
Experiencing Fear Like a Boss (because you are)
- Everyone feels fear – The best thing about fear is that everyone feels it. The big dogs of business still feel fear when they take that next leap, launch that next business, or star in that next movie. So chances are, you’re feeling fear at the exact same time and in the exact same way as Beyonce. You’re pretty much twinning right now. #winning
- The goal should never be to remove the fear. If the goal was to not feel fear, we’d probably never leave the house, #truth.
- Recognise that fear and excitement feel the same in your body. Now just imagine for a moment that next time your heart races, and you break into a sweat, instead of hitting the panic button, you reframe the ‘fearful’ keynote speech as….exciting. Play with it. It’s possible, we promise.
- Feel The Fear and Doing It Anyway. Instead of focussing on not feeling the fear, the key to dealing with fear is having the ability to maintain our sense of equilibrium while we’re feeling fear. This means not turning back, getting frazzled, or changing course because of the fear. Being able to feel fear but not let it consume us completely, being able to notice and understand it, but to keep our calm and press on through the fear.
- Fear is more fun with friends. Finding like-minded people who are also pushing their boundaries and know what you’re going through, is a winning strategy when you’re going for an uplevel.
It might be cliche, but it’s true – everything is possible on the other side of fear.
Find your tribe of peeps over in our ‘Launching Legends – Owners Collective’ Facebook group, and to make things even better, we’re running our next FREE Launching Legends Startup Festival shortly. This business throwdown will equip you with the knowledge you need to get your gig off the ground, or to up-level your current biz, and will help you walk through some of those scary steps, with a tribe of epic friends by your side.
