How Passion and Purpose Conquered My Fear

Have you ever heard your heartbeat inside your head, and it was so loud it distracted you from what everyone else was saying? I was sitting at the table with my company’s board members and the rest of our senior management team. I was the most recent addition. It had been five weeks since my promotion to Coffee House Division President. It was only a few weeks since the company’s President said, “Congratulations on your promotion. You deserve it. In five weeks, there is a board meeting where you will present your strategic plan for your division.” He was still smiling as he said this.?

The timeline started rolling through my mind like a boulder, picking up speed and threatening to annihilate me.

In all fairness, he didn’t know I almost didn’t graduate college because I dropped speech three times. But he has seen me present before. I remember when I had just had my first child and made a presentation to our thousand-person sales force the first week back at work. I only got through that one by putting a picture of my newborn baby daughter up at the beginning. It was the picture prop that broke the ice. When everyone clapped at her photo, it took the attention off me for a second. Long enough to collect myself.

This was different, though. This was the board of directors, which included several executives of Fortune 500 or publicly traded companies. I was 31 years old, and I felt like a fraud, for sure.

Have you ever felt like a fraud in your role? Have you ever struggled to understand how to overcome fear in business?

Facing Fear In The Moment

My boss’s voice cut through the tunnel-sounding heartbeat in my head, announcing, “Let’s take a quick break, and then Sue is up with her strategic plan.” ?Hearing my name jolted me out of the chair and to the bathroom, where I went straight to a stall and locked it. Now, in addition to the heart palpitations, I was having trouble breathing and sweating through my green silk shirt into my jacket. It was the 90s, and women wore silk shirts and pantyhose to work. I didn’t dare take the blazer off at this point.

I was literally having a panic attack. At that time in my life, I wasn’t a Christian, and I didn’t know to call on Jesus by name. But I prayed to some god—the god of calm or confidence.

I didn’t know how long I had been in the bathroom, but since I am the only woman on senior management or the board, it would be highly embarrassing if someone had to come get me. I exhaled, reminded myself I had developed an excellent plan, and walked out.

In Hindsight, Knowing Jesus Would Have Made the Difference

As I entered the room, I prayed again to someone that this wouldn’t be the shortest stint at a senior management job in the company’s history. Standing at the front, I wondered if I was shaking visibly. I looked out at the room of about twenty businesspeople. My boss, the President, and the Chairman of the Board, who owned the company, sat at the far end of the tables connected in a U-shape. They were looking at me, and I think I saw fear in their eyes for a minute, too. Fear for me.

I started to talk, but the words were barely audible because of my cotton mouth. This was bad. Now, the entire room reflected my fear in their eyes.

Props Help in Public Speaking

I turned around and walked back to the lectern. Walking out would have been easier, but losing this dream job was my biggest fear.

This Division President position was the job I had been preparing for all my career—the job I asked for on bed rest with my twins still in my stomach. It was the climax of my time at this company, moving from department to department and getting the experience to run my own division. I was getting to build a business almost from scratch. God, please don’t let me blow it.

So, I did the only thing I knew to do. I walked back, reached into the shelf inside the lectern, and grabbed—you guessed it—my props. Our ad agency had mocked up new coffee packaging for our products to show the board the direction we were heading. I grabbed the products and started handing them out to pass around.??

Passion and Purpose Can Overcome Fear in Business

In the split second that all the board members redirected their stares from my petrified eyes to the packages my shaking hands were holding out, the moment that all I had prepared came into focus. My voice became crisp and clear. My confidence went from 5th gear to 1st. And I started laying out the vision, the purpose, and the plans.

I loved the company, my division, and my team, and it showed. It wasn’t just a strategic plan presentation. It was more like a proud mom introducing her daughter to 1000 salesmen for the first time. I told the story of what the brand would become and how I was beyond excited to be a part of this new company’s history in the making. Yes, I was that dramatic.

As I looked back down the tables, I saw the look in my boss’s and the owner’s eyes. They now looked like proud parents. I knew I was nailing it as they grinned from ear to ear and nodded in agreement as I laid out the details of the next five years.

Passion and Purpose Fuel Excellent Execution

This presentation marked day one of what would be another five years of overcoming fears, showing up when I wanted to hide, conquering obstacles, and fulfilling my purpose.?

I felt complete in this role as the head of this startup division. Every person I hired was a part of my family. Every location we opened was the visual manifestation of the strategic plan. Every customer we served was another opportunity to share our passion and purpose in our extended communities.

During these years, I learned that with purpose, passion is ignited, and dreams are fulfilled.

Jesus is Always There

I have also since become a strong believer in Jesus.? I know now that if Jesus is at the center of our passion and purpose, we can truly overcome any fear and live out His plan for us.? And Jesus is timeless.? I know it was He who got me through that presentation.? Even if I didn’t know Him yet, He had already chosen me.

Do you have any examples of when a true sense of purpose helped you overcome fears and obstacles? Do you lean on Jesus in times of fear? Are there any opportunities in your life you have avoided out of fear? Can you find the purpose in this opportunity that may help you overcome any obstacles or fears in business?