“Most people lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” – Henry David Thoreau.
“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step…” Les Brown
Is your own person
al fear holding you back from the success you deserve in business?
Do you have a business dream that you continually think about but haven’t actively pursued? A large number of people say they want to achieve some kind of business excellence such as starting a company, creating a blog that attracts a massive following, launch an online webinar. The question that you must ask yourself is, “why haven’t you done it yet?”
Often you give answers such as:
- I’m not good at tech stuff
- I don’t have enough time
- My ideas aren’t good enough
- It’s too competitive in my industry
- I don’t have the skills
- I don’t know enough
- And so on and so on and so on…
A large number of people continually come up with different excuses and keep procrastinating which, in essence, does the complete opposite to achieving your dreams. One of the biggest reasons why people fail is because they don’t take any kind of significant action to get what they want.
Perhaps you keep yourself busy by researching different subjects, reading different kinds of blogs, buying online courses you don’t complete or even wasting large periods of time looking at Instagram and SnapChat, obsessing over what other people are doing. You may feel like you are moving forward, but in reality, you are stagnating because you are not focusing on the important activities that will generate revenue in your business.
You know what we are talking about
Of course, you know that in a lot of circumstances that you are your biggest enemy and it’s you that is standing in your own way but you can’t stop yourself. You know deep down that it is your fear that is holding you back. So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach so we don’t even bother to reach for it. Our fear justifies all of these excuses. Because if you make excuses and you stay busy doing stuff that’s not productive.
Why are we scared of the things we want the most?
We have to remember that the fear of something potentially bad happening is one of the things that make us human. Just look at animals; for instance, they fear something that is an immediate danger which is crucial for their survival.
A lot of people say that fear is our defence mechanism and is there to keep us safe. It stops us from doing something stupid or worse, putting ourselves in danger. In general, it’s a healthy emotion – fear keeps us from jumping off a high cliff or touching a hot stove in the kitchen.
However, the interesting thing is that fear can hold us back from getting what we want. It can be incredibly soul destroying, limiting and sometimes debilitating. What if we told you this though… 99.9% of our imagined fears never come true, all they do is keep us from moving forward.
What do we really fear?
Fears that people commonly mention when asked the question, “What’s holding you back?” include:
- Fear of failure
- Fear of rejection
- Fear of not being good enough
- Fear of loss (of what you have right now)
- Fear of the unknown/self-doubt
- Fear of change
- Fear of success
And these fears can really influence how we think. Fear can dictate our actions (or – in most cases – lack of action).
For instance:
- I’d love to write a book, but what if people don’t enjoy reading it? Maybe I should read some more books about writing before I even consider writing my own.
- Wow, I really want to launch an online course but I’m not very good with new technology and don’t think my ideas offer enough value. What if I can’t execute my ideas properly?
- I’d love to start giving live workshops but what if I forget what I’m talking about and look foolish? What if I come across really boring on stage?
- I can’t make my new blog live until I have at least six months of good quality articles, maybe that’s not even enough. I read somewhere that it’s important, so I’m not going to launch until I get this aspect right!
So how can I overcome fear?
Here is a little secret for you. All entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Steve Jobs (Apple) or Elon Musk (Tesla) faced fear at some point in their careers, on many different occasions in fact! Especially when they stepped out into new territory and did something they’ve never done before. However what separates the average people from the greats? How can you live up to your own expectations?
What’s different about the people who build thriving, successful businesses and live their big dreams is that they:
- take bold, consistent action in spite of the fear
- trade short-term discomfort for long-term success
- embrace their fear and walk into it anyway
- stop comparing themselves to others
- don’t focus on excuses, but work to find solutions
- avoid being busy and focus on productivity
- celebrate their wins, even if they are small
- know that action builds confidence and expertise
- set a plan and then break it down into small actionable steps so it’s more achievable
- surround themselves with other people willing to go for their dreams
You can do all these things.
