So I’m flipping through my Facebook the other day, and I notice a lot of my former schoolmates and people I grew up with starting their own businesses. To begin with, I want to say that’s a pretty big deal. That means taking a big step toward building what could be a financial juggernaut, a job creating gold mind, or at the very least the self satisfaction of being able to say, “This is mine and nobody has the power to take this from me but me.” So congratulations on taking that first step. It’s often said that the first step is the scariest. It means being vulnerable and exposing a very precious part of yourself: your dreams...
Fear is a very demonizing thing. It can paralyze you right before taking that necessary step, and keep you from doing what you need to do to get what you want (like that cutie’s phone number). At some point we’ve all been there, and it isn’t fun. But when you did get that number I bet you felt like this...
Image courtesy of deviantart.com
They say in order to defeat your enemy, you have to know your enemy. So what is fear? Fear is the anticipation of pain. You think something is gonna hurt and you get scared. Doesn’t sound as bad and demonizing that way, right? That’s because it isn’t, IF you take away the power you’ve given it. We give fear power by feeding it and allowing those around us to feed it. Does this sound familiar? “If you want to move forward with your career, you have to do these specific things, kiss the right asses, and look a certain way then hope that somebody important notices you.” Now to me, that doesn’t exactly sound like the most motivating thing to hear. Who’s to say you’re not important? If you don’t look that “certain way” who’s to say you’re not more equipped to do the job than the next person? And I don’t know about you, but as far as trusting my career to the hands of another human being to the point that I would kiss their ass: I ain’t ‘bout that life. That’s not to say that presentation isn’t important, because it is, but you can have an awesome presentation of yourself without compromising who you are (I’ll likely write about this later). And by listening to the people feeding you those lines, you’re feeding your fear of failure. If you haven’t noticed, those people are nowhere near the place you’re trying to get to. It’s usually because they’re afraid to go there... Caution: fear is contagious.
Have you ever tried to get rid of darkness with more darkness? It can’t be done. The only way to get rid of darkness is with its opposite: Light. And like darkness, fear (the belief that if I take this blind step forward, I’m gonna fall flat on my face) can only be driven out with its opposite: Faith (the belief that if I take this blind step forward, there will be something solid for my foot to land on and support my weight). Taking that first step to say “This is me and my dream” is huge. It isn’t the only big step, but it is a huge one. It means you’re taking the power away from fear because you realize that the pain of failure and rejection is not nearly as bad as the pain of wasting your potential and drowning your dream. Now you have to keep stepping. You’ll trip along the way, but that’s ok. Keep stepping until you get your stride. You can always shed a little light on your next step by doing a little research and studying (and you thought you were done after school.. LOL), but no matter what, always move forward. Don’t get complacent, and if you get discouraged, remember why you started in the first place. It won’t be easy, but it's worth it...
"You'll only be afraid until you just do it." - Anna Vital
(Recommended: The Hustler vs. The Entrepreneur)
Was this helpful to you? Let me know in the comments below.
