One of the biggest excuses I hear for people not doing the things they need to do for their business is fear.
Fear of failure. Fear of losing money. Fear of rejection. Fear of looking stupid. You name it.
Well today I’m here to call bullish*t.
There are so many reasons that businesses don’t succeed, but letting your fears hold you back shouldn’t be one of them.
Confession time: I am terrified of flying. Absolutely terrified. Sleepless nights. Stress dreams. Gripping of the armrest during turbulence. There may have even been a freakout once in the Moscow airport when they wanted to change our flight. The whole deal.
But In the last year alone, I flew to Salt Lake City, Orlando, London, Phoenix, Portland, Chicago, Australia, Denver, and Chicago again. All for business opportunities.
And while I’ve certainly gotten much better when it comes to airplane anxiety, every time we hit a little turbulence, I still feel myself getting uncomfortable.
But that doesn’t stop me from getting on the next flight.
In order to successfully grow your business, you’ve got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You’ve got to let yourself stretch. You’ve got to feel the fear, and do it anyway.
I don’t really have a magic trick when it comes to banishing fear. The best I can offer is what’s worked for me. If you’re afraid of something, do it often. Do it a lot. Do it until it becomes routine.
When I wasn’t traveling regularly, I set a rule for myself. I had to fly at least once a year. Any less frequently than that, and I built flying up into something crazy in my mind. But now, I fly so often that I’m one of those people who can breeze through airport security as I take my shoes off with one hand while pulling my laptop out of my bag with the other.
Doing something until it becomes routine doesn’t mean that you won’t still be afraid. I will never feel 100% comfortable on an airplane. But the more I fly, the easier it becomes.
And the same is true for whatever fears hold you back from from growing your business. Whether it’s calling clients, pitching bloggers, or appearing on video, challenge yourself to do it often. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable, because that’s the only way you’ll truly be able to grow your business.
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Speaking of video, Monica has a fantastic new digital product out called Front + Center. Monica works with small business owners and bloggers to help them get camera-ready, and she is amazing. I’ve personally worked with her to get myself more confident in front of the camera, and I love that her new program makes her strategies available to a wider audience. You can get the program by clicking here, where you can also buy the program plus an hour of private coaching with Monica. (Which I highly recommend.) The price goes up on December 13, so grab your spot now!
Great post this morning. The funny thing is, one of my fears is The One of a Kind Show in Chicago. Happy Selling!!
just what I needed to hear today…I am TERRIFIED of flying also, and I totally agree the more you do it, the easier it becomes….now I need to make this my mantra for growing my small business! thank you megan!!
I can’t believe I open up a great post about the idea that has been haunting me non-stop lately. Fear! Yes, constantly. Annoyingly nagging and hindering my growth and well being. Thank you for your words that remind me to push through and remember I am not alone. Rock on Megan.
Thanks for this! Although I’m not afraid of flying, I’m so afraid of putting myself out there! I’m participating in my first trade show in January in London, and I’m so scared I get little panic attacks when I think of going. I’ll have to make trade shows a habit.
Great Post!! I wish I would have read it on Dec.7,during the One of A Kind Show. I was definitely frightful of the show.. thanks for sharing and letting us know we are not in this alone.
Thanks for your encouraging posts. They always seem to hit me at just the right time. I needed an external reminder to keep plugging away, and here it is.
I also share your flying fear – it scares me to even declare this. But you have really nailed it in saying that the more you do something that intimidates you – the less intimidating it becomes.
Since my Year 9 Drama class I have held these wise words of Frank Herbert’s close… “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
It is in fear that we challenge ourselves to exceed own expectations and reach our potential… and so it is a vital element that propels me forward to create for Art Out Loud NZ and literally speak my mind with my artwork.
invaluable . . . for me, sometimes I fear that I don’t let fear in quite enough and jump into things (like my first trade show) without quite enough research. man, I wish i’d bought your wholesaling e-book (or knew it existed) further out than a week before my first show!! 😉 (in my defense, i signed up for a small booth in the ’emerging artists’ section at Beckman’s in Chicago and got bumped to a 10×10 with a back wall….that certainly changed a lot. 🙂
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