I have lived a long life and had many troubles, most of which never happened.
– Mark Twain
Uncertainty
Taking the first step toward a new business can be a daunting and scary task. “Many people will cling to an unsatisfactory way of life rather than change in order to get something better, for fear of getting something worse” – says author, Eric Hoffer.
Why would we cling to something that is unsatisfactory? It’s because we fear uncertainty. We fear the unknown. We are afraid the new environment will be worse that what we have today. So, we are forever trapped in this fear and the more we think about it, the bigger the fear grows.
The stock market plunges when investors are fearful of actions that may be taken by the federal government. Recently the market dropped because of fear of a trade war with China. Even when the economy was not doing well (during years 2009 – 2016, the economy averaged 2% growth), the S&P 500 grew from the low of 700 in March of 2009 to almost 2258 by the end of 2016, a gain of more than 300%, stock market trend
Why? Because even though the growth of the economy was slow, it was predictable.
How does fear come into play with the desire to start a new business?
Overwhelm
The feeling of being overwhelmed is a typical reaction when we contemplate a new business. There are so many tasks that needed to be completed in creating a new business, so our minds fly from one task to another. Additionally, because there are so many decisions that needed to be made, the fear of making the wrong choice makes our minds shutdown to avoid the pain of making a mistake. It is possible to minimize the feeling of being overwhelmed but understand the fear will not go away.
Understand that fear will not go away
Courage is not eliminating fear, but rather acting despite of fear. Think about the fears you’ve experienced. Chances are high that most of them, if not all, were trying to stop you from doing something that could expose you to failure or humiliation. Fear has your best interests at heart. So how do you act in the face of fear?
Believe that you can be successful
First, believe that you can be successful. How is this accomplished? Think about successes you have had in the past. Was there a problem at work that you resolved? Didn’t you have to define the problem, come up with the steps to resolve it and ultimately do so? You probably found that you needed to do this on a regular basis, no matter what job or industry you were in. In fact, you got pretty good at it, and were promoted as a result. In business, we are hired to solve problems. It is no different in your own business. Define the problem, come up with viable solutions, evaluate them, decide on an action and take the action.
Sound simple? Yes, but life is not that simple. If it was, we would all take the actions necessary rather than be paralyzed with fear. We need to take it a step further.
How legitimate is the fear?
When fear arises, stop and think it through. What type of fear is it? Is it loss of money or just the potential for embarrassment? How real is the threat? What is the likelihood it will happen?
First, determine if the fear is realistic. For example, if I am opening a retail store, I need to lease a space, which means a long term financial commitment. I also need to buy inventory, advertise, etc. It is a huge financial commitment and I potentially could lose my entire investment. To add to it, what if I didn’t have any retail experience? Should I fear the monetary loss? Absolutely. However, taking the steps to make sure a great deal of due diligence are done before I take the step of starting this type of business, would go a long way to curb that fear. You’ve done your due diligence and you know the risks; so moving forward in your business is now based on a known calculated risk, and should give you some comfort level. Remember, fear does not totally goes away.
But what if I was asked to speak to the local rotary club on entrepreneurship? Would I be scared? Yes, I would be. My heart pounds every time I must speak to a group of people.
Adam Grant, one of top management thinkers of our time said, “Several years ago, I was invited to give my first public speech and I made a mistake of saying yes. I was terrified. As a student, my heart used to race at the mere thought of raising my hand in class.” Recently I had the opportunity listen to Adam speak live in front of 9700 people and that same speech was simulcasted to over 100,000 people! Where would Adam be today if he never took the step to speak up in class?
I encourage you to not allow fear to stifle and box you in.
A Word of Caution
Sometimes people think that to overcome fear they must take dramatic action to overcome their fear. They believe that if they just think positive enough and take bold actions that everything will work out. Think back to the illustration of starting a retail business. Starting a business that takes a large financial commitment
Do not take grandiose actions in attempt to overcome fear. I repeat. Do not take grandiose actions in attempt to overcome fear. That is a recipe for failure. Be pragmatic.
Take Small Steps
Don’t set aside an entire weekend to work on your business plan. Don’t tell yourself you will spend the entire weekend working on it and you won’t stop until you complete it. If this is the approach you take, the weekend will come, and you will procrastinate starting the business plan and you won’t do it that weekend. You’ll promise yourself to work on the business plan the next weekend and procrastination will happen again.
Take small steps. The actual action toward your business doesn’t make much of a difference, it just needs to be action toward the goal. Determine an action you can take right now toward your goal. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Write down an action you can take to move you towards your goal. It can be a phone call, an email, or research on the web, whatever it is, write it down.
Take the Action
Once you have written down the action; take it. Give yourself 3 seconds to take the action. Make the call, write the email. Don’t think about it, just do it. If you wait longer than 3 seconds, your mind will come with reasons not to make the call. Questions such as, “What do I say when they answer? What if they don’t answer; do I leave a voicemail? What do I say on the voicemail? I had better write out a script. I’ll write the script for if they answer and if I need to leave a voicemail. That will work. I’ve got a plan.” Unfortunately, the call is never made.
You will Gain confidence as you Act
Branding expert, Christian Marie Herron says. “My mantra is that: ‘Most people are not brave enough to ever start their own business. If it was easy, everyone would do it.’ What I have learned as an entrepreneur is that the icky feelings are part of the territory and that as long as we do something every day — write, make a call, learn a new marketing skill — these feelings will always be temporary. Over time you gain the wisdom of knowing that you are on the right path, even if you can’t see clearly where you are”.
Writer Andy Molinsky, in his book Reach, says “Internalize what’s good and positive and fulfilling about this experience of acting outside your comfort zone, to remember the tinge of pride you felt the first time you did it’.
Understand What you will Become
A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions, says Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. As you act on your goals, you will become more confident. This confidence will show in your face, in your voice and how you hold yourself. You will not be the same person you were after taking action. Author Denis Waitley says, “But we have the biggest breakthroughs when we push through the scary changes don’t we? Our next level is always on the other side of an obstacle and always on the other side of a challenge.”
Take the action.
So . . . expect fear and plan to act in spite of it!
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