How Entrepreneurs Can Face Their Fears Head On [In Order To Succeed]

How Entrepreneurs Can Face Their Fears Head On

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are all facing one fear or another.

I remember when I loved to go to the theme park.

I was addicted to the rush, the adrenaline running through me as I was shot into the sky 100s of meters above Earth.

I still remember the day this passion for theme parks dissipated.

One day when I was on a primary school trip, we found ourselves in one of London's biggest theme parks.

It was a great, hot summer day, right before school was closing down - the teachers and the kids alike were ready to have a great time.

I was ecstatic, after all, I loved theme parks and going on rides that give me the jitters.

When I jumped on the first ride of the day, I felt something I have never felt before, it was a weird feeling inside me.

It felt like the whole world was rotating around me as my body stood still.

Before I could figure out what was going on I was quickly swept up by the momentum of the ride.

Everything seemed like a blur, I didn't know where I was.

I closed my eyes and waited for the ride to be over.

Once I got off, I was quiet, still for a second before it all came out.

Everything that was building up inside me over the last few minutes gave out... I vomited!

Anticlimactic, I know.

However, this was the very end of my love for theme parks.

Since then, I have never gone to a theme park ever again.

I don't ever want to go to a theme park again, it just doesn't feel the same.

Fast forward to secondary school, 6, 7 years later, my friends were all thrilled about going to a theme park.

Every year, they planned a big day out to the theme park.

Whenever they asked me, I just said "Not this time." I was anxious to admit it, but I was scared of reliving that experience again.

Our fears are powerful?mental chains?that hold us back from achieving what we set out to do.

They're exactly the reason many of us decide to stay in our?comfort zone, never to venture out into the unknown.

They're what make us seek the light when we're a few steps out in the dark.?

For many people, they have a fear of spiders.

However, for entrepreneurs, these fears are usually much more deep-rooted.

It could be a fear of sales, a?fear of failure, a fear of?talking to people, a fear of success, even.

When we get stuck in a state of fear, we begin to watch our summit get further and further away until all hope of ever reaching it is lost.

To avoid this, we must?learn how to conquer these shackles?and embrace the darkness in order to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This article outlines how entrepreneurs can face their fears head-on?in order to succeed.

Identify your fears

The first step of facing anything is to first understand what it is you need to face.

If I asked you today, what do you fear, do you think you can answer that question for me?

Naturally, we might tell ourselves that it's something completely different from what it truly is.

When I ran my?marketing agency, I was horrified of?cold calling new prospects.

So every day, I would half-heartedly do my?outreach and prospecting, and then blame the business or the industry for my shortcomings.?

It's much easier to?blame everything other than myself.

It's simple to identify what your fears are.

However, if you're struggling to think of what you're really scared of, then here's how you can figure it out.

Go on with?your day as normal, however, you're going to want to keep a sharp eye out for any fears that might pop up.

Stay attentive to your environment and every little thing that happens throughout your day.

You're going to be working through your day as usual, but you're also going to be observing from a third-person viewpoint.

What do you do in your day?

When do you start to get lazy?

When might you start feeling anxious?

What's the reason for it?

What's going on at the time of this occurrence?

Ask yourself as many questions as possible in order to get to the root fear and the reason it happens.

Lots of people face similar fears in business.

If you're close to launching a product, you might be having a fear of launching - why?

You simply don't want to launch and fail.

This was me a few weeks back when I launched?Hawk Prospecting.

Here are?the lessons I learnt from that experience.

When we take a second to write our thoughts down, it makes them real, it makes them visible to us.

Vividly describe every bit of detail surrounding your fears.

We're taking them out of our heads where they're in complete control and putting them somewhere tangible and physical.

They're in our arena now, it's a much more equal battle.

No longer are they this big, scary thing looming over us all day.

You can directly look at your fears now, you've got the advantage.

Redefine them

Why exactly are you facing these fears?

Why are they coming to you now, when you're trying to do something good in your life?

Most of the time our fears are not as big and scary as we make them out to be.

We have a 'Wizard of Oz' moment where we make the fear look much worse than it truly is.

In reality, it's a small and harmless problem disguised by the shroud our mind has created.

From the first step, we're able to really understand our fears now.

We know our fears and we know what causes them.

Now we just need to sit down and think if our fears are justified.

Are they really as bad as we're making them out to be?

Most of the time, the answer is going to be no.

Deep down we know that we shouldn't be scared, we know that our fears aren't as bad as our minds make them seem.

Back to my?marketing agency?example.

What does cold calling really mean?

In my mind, it's like a life or death situation, if the prospect rejects me, or they say no, or they raise their voice a little, I'm done for!

This is nowhere near the truth.

In fact, this is the farthest thing from the truth.

Cold calling is very simply me doing a favor for my prospects, asking if they need help from my service.

It's not a 'cold' call, it's just a friendly phone call.

It's a quick question, a little chat.

If they say no, then that's okay. We'll come back and see what they think a few months from now.

A lot of them will say no, and that's okay.

Not everyone needs to be interested.

Nothing bad will happen from a little no - they're not rejecting me, they're just?not yet ready for this step in their business.

What's actually the worst that can happen?

Realistically, they'll say "we're not interested," and I'll move on to the next one.

It's not a physical interaction - I've been in worse situations where I'm going?door-to-door, so why is this such a big deal?

All of a sudden, a 'cold' call doesn't seem to be so scary.

It's no longer a cold call - it's a simple yes/no question.

Nothing will happen when the answer is no.

When the answer is yes, then great! That's one in the jar for me.

Small steps, big results

A massive reason why entrepreneurs struggle with fear is that we try to jump the gun.

We try to go from 0 to 100, fearful to fearless at lightning speed.

That is simply not how it works.

Big results require massive action and?massive consistency?to reach.

Nothing great ever happens overnight.

In fact, when you try to completely eradicate your fears quickly, you'll make it worse because it all gets harder to handle.

You'll feel more pressure to achieve something no one can do in the timeframe you expect and your fears just get worse and worse.

Starting with small actions is important.

Small actions lead to remarkable results.

Let's use a familiar example - cold calling.

No one likes cold calling, it's terrifying, especially as an?introvert.

So how do you face this fear?

You simply take action on it.

You've outlined the fear itself, you've redefined it, now it's time to take action and overcome it.

This is where people go wrong - they try to do 100 calls on the first day.

They come up very short making around 5-10.

They then blame themselves for not reaching such a distant?goal.

The fear amplifies itself and gets even harder to overcome.

Start with 1 yes/no question.

1 simple, short question.

Whatever the outcome, come to peace with the fact that you made the conscious decision to pick up the phone and ask that question.

The next day, you can ask 2 people the same question.

Once again, no matter what the result is, you can rest assured that you have done enough for the day.

You're slowly?building the right habit, you're becoming the person you need to become to get where you want to be.

Eventually, you'll reach the point where you can make 50, 70, 100 calls per day.

It all starts with?small steps, bite-sized action steps?that move you in the right direction.

Babies don't run out of the womb, they can't even walk for the first few months.

A few months later, it finally happens, their first step alone happens, their first word comes out their mouth.

From there, they learn to walk, they learn to run, they learn to speak,?write, play.

The more you stay consistent, the stronger your?momentum?becomes, the better the results will be.

I recommend you read 'Atomic Habits' if you're interested in learning more about habit-forming, the slow and steady way.

On top of that, If you also face a cold-calling problem, you should check out the book 'Fanatical Prospecting.'

It can really help you overcome the barriers holding you back from being the?salesperson?you need to be.

Just remember - one small step at a time.

Face the bully

The only way to make the bully go away is by standing up and fighting back.

The reason we get so stuck in a state of constant fear is that we don't look for a way out.

As soon as the bully comes out to the play, we scurry to safety.

The truth is whatever you do, whatever blog post you read,?whatever books you drown yourself in, whatever podcast you listen to, your fears will always be there.

No matter how much action you take, your fears will always be there, they just get easier to live with.

Our fears are deep-rooted, they're internalized within us and so it's impossible to just make them disappear.

You may be reading this and taking action, and that's exactly what you should be doing.

However, this is not a secret to becoming fearless, that choice is all up to you.

The only person who can confront that bully is you.

You need to fight your own battle.

When you take those small action steps we've outlined, you're going to fail continuously and feel that fear kicking in again.

That's alright, it's normal.

Fear and failure are simply an indication you're stepping outside of your?comfort zone.

It's a sign you're taking the right steps to better yourself, to conquer something that's been holding you back for a long time.

When you feel like you're safe, it could very well mean you're not doing what you should be doing - you're not growing.

However, when you start to sense fear, when your heart beats a little faster, when you feel a drop of sweat, you're doing the right thing.

Understand that fear is inevitable.

Your biggest idols, your favorite entrepreneurs, the wealthiest people on the planet fear something.

When I think of fear, I think of it as a step in the right direction.

I remember Ray Dalio's words, "If you're not worried, you need to worry. And if you're worried, you don't need to worry."

The only way out of the tunnel is to keep moving forward.

It gets darker, but you slowly acclimate to the darkness.?

You learn to live with those fears rather than run away from them.

Never give up

This goes without saying, but it's important to mention nonetheless.

Never give up, no matter how difficult you think it is right now.

Remember that you started this journey for a greater purpose than yourself.

You've got dreams and a?massive vision?to fulfill, don't let that all go to waste.

When you give up, you're retiring the chance to ever?bring your vision into fruition.

However, when you stick to the long-term vision,?your WHY, you'll always have another chance to bounce back.

When you don't give up, you're?building the habits for your success.

You're slowly eradicating those fears, and bringing a new, more powerful emotion to light.

When it feels like giving up is your only option, this is when it's more important than ever to push forward.

When it feels like your fears and failures have gotten the best of you, surprise them with a devastating uppercut from the bottom.

Your fears are only what you make them out to be.

Your mind is powerful enough to turn fears into fantasies.

However, most of us live our lives in the shadows whilst our minds roam free.

Today is the day those tables turn.

Today is the day you?step back into your body and regain control?of your own mind.

Don't be a victim to your own mind.

Take control and reap the rewards that await you on the other side of your?comfort zone.

That's how entrepreneurs can face their fears head-on in order to succeed.

What did you learn from this article?

Are you going to start taking action on nurturing your fears?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Don't forget to share this with anyone who would find value in it.

Till next time,

Mohamad