What are you afraid of?

blog cover image
27
1.7K followers

Do something every day that scares you is a very famous quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt although what she apparently said was:

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

As entrepreneurs we are often in a position where we are working alone and trying to build a business in a niche which we are interested in but perhaps feel we don’t know enough about. Often we are faced with learning new skills which seem far beyond our capabilities and we wonder if we will actually be able to do this online business thing.

Don’t worry if you feel this way - it’s perfectly normal and something that everyone who has achieved success in their business has faced.

It’s all about stepping out of your comfort zone and pushing yourself to do things you have never done before. This can be scary but let’s look at some of the things we might be afraid of and see if there’s a solution or a way to face our fears.

  • Fear of change. Change is something we are preprogrammed to resist because it poses a threat to the comfort of our current circumstances. Just remember that if you do the things you have always done then you get the same results you always get. Is that what you want?
  • Fear of failure. This fear is a big one and one that prevents many of us from ever starting out. I know of many entrepreneurs who started their business despite well meaning friends or family warning that they were wasting their time or money in trying to build a business. Failure would mean proving them right and that would be unbearable. Maybe so, but ask yourself how you will feel in a few years time if you turn down this opportunity to make a go of it yourself.
  • Fear of your lack of knowledge. Personally I call this self-awareness. None of us has all the knowledge we need when we set out. Creating a business is a learning experience and we should never be afraid to reach out for help - especially when we have a resource such as wealthy affiliate to call upon when we need help.
  • Fear of financial loss. This is really not a biggy any more compared to a few years ago when to start a business you had to invest huge sums of money into buying a franchise or taking over a business. Starting an online business is as inexpensive as it gets and if you aren’t prepared to invest a small amount of money in a domain and hosting then stop reading now. You don’t get something for nothing so accept that there will be some costs at the start.
  • Fear of being wrong. This could be a fear of going into the wrong niche, or a fear of breaking your website with the wrong plugin. It’s important to accept that you will make mistakes and sometimes things will go wrong but it’s all part of the learning process. Remember it’s better to try something and get it wrong than not to try at all. The experience will usually point you towards a better way to do something. Never feel bad about making mistakes. Winners learn from mistakes. Losers never even try.


How do you conquer your fears? By learning how to eat an elephant!

How do you eat an elephant? On the face of it, an impossible task but the answer is to do it one piece at a time - not all in one go.

Whatever fear is holding you back in achieving your goals in your business the answer is to break the problem down into a series of smaller and more manageable problems.

Always ask yourself what’s the worst that could happen and prepare yourself for that eventuality (it almost certainly wont happen but it’s good to be prepared). Then face your fears and work through them.

Courage and unstoppable momentum comes to those who face their fears. Avoiding your fears makes them grow but confronting them is the best way to grow as a person and as an entrepreneur.

Login
Create Your Free Wealthy Affiliate Account Today!
icon
4-Steps to Success Class
icon
One Profit Ready Website
icon
Market Research & Analysis Tools
icon
Millionaire Mentorship
icon
Core “Business Start Up” Training

Recent Comments

24

Great post!
It is true that it is always more interesting and rewarding to be able to do something that scared us so far and to get out of it by saying: "Finally it was not so complicated!" Going through the steps can be scary sometimes, but it's so good to be proud of yourself afterwards that it's worth it.

Ingrid

Thanks Ingrid. I totally agree. Its so satisfying to do something you never thought you'd be able to do 😀

Great advice.

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback 🙂

Great post Dave. We have to face our fears to move forward.
Have a great weekend,
Mickey

Thanks Mickey. Have a great weekend too 🙂

Thank you Dave! I am going to tell myself “what is the worst thing that could happen” next time I am faced with fear. Heck, being part of WA was even scary at first. What is the worst thing there that could happen? I could learn a lot about myself and others, form new relationships, push myself to succeed or learn something new every day? All good things if you ask me!
Michelle

Thanks Michelle. Yes facing our fears is a great way to grow and develop skills and relationships. Have a great weekend 🙂

Inspirational, thanks for the lesson on dealing with fear.

Hi Tim. I appreciate the feedback, thanks 🙂

Hi Dave. Fear can definitely be a deterrent to progress. I like to face my fears, and the sooner the better. Jim

Hi Jim. The sooner the better is definitely the way to go

This is a good post Dave. We must face our fears and beat them.

Derek

Totally agree Derek. Thanks

Good post I have no fear, for 13 years I worked in the Police and while I hated it, daily I had to face challenges and overcome tbem

You see life Differently and learn new things, so as a person development school it was good plus I had the best coach cum mentor I could wish for... My late great. Mum

Mums are definitely great mentors 🙂

David, an excellent article on what fear are and on how to overcome it.
FEAR, False Expectations Appearing Real, have bothered a lot of people. Easy to talk but needs bravery to face it head on.
Thank you, David.

Thanks for your kind words. False expectations appearing resl - yes thats exactly what fears are in the digital business world 🙂

See more comments

Login
Create Your Free Wealthy Affiliate Account Today!
icon
4-Steps to Success Class
icon
One Profit Ready Website
icon
Market Research & Analysis Tools
icon
Millionaire Mentorship
icon
Core “Business Start Up” Training