Who’s Afraid Now?

This Weeks Summary:

Learned: Fear is an emotion

Planning: Planning for fear

Business idea: AI prompts

Vet Opp: Ag business

I met: Janine Bolon and Doug Paul

Stoic Quote of the Week

We are more often frightened than hurt, and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.

-Seneca

What I learned this week:

Fear is the emotion that keeps us out of trouble. It is also the emotion that keeps us from taking action. Fear of pain, death, injury, and punishment all provide an incentive to be morally good. Our morals help keep us in check, and fear of punishment reinforces those morals. Fear of pain keeps us from doing something dangerous. Fear safeguards us but also limits us from taking action and moving forward. A couple of common fear phrases, fear of missing out (FOMO) and fear of failure, are two of the biggest limiters in our lives. Fear is in our heads. We are afraid because we don’t know the outcome. Fear to take action or move forward is an emotion, just like the fear of death and injury are emotions. There is no difference in the emotion. The difference is in the reality of it. Since fear is an emotion, we can separate ourselves from the emotion, look at fear objectively, and ask, “How true is this concern?” “Will I die?” “Will the business fail?” “Will people hate me?” these questions allow us to check our fear and see how real it is. Standing on the edge of a cliff, yes, I might die. Jumping out of an airplane, yes, I might die. OK, that fear takes courage to overcome. Fear of missing out on something cool or a business opportunity does not take courage to overcome. It takes objectivity, the reality of the questions, and being honest with yourself. Fear is natural because we are always afraid of the unknown. We can mitigate that fear through practice. That’s why athletes and performers practice and rehearse to move away from a fear of failure. You can do the same thing. Fear of failure is mitigated through practice and preparation. Courage is needed to overcome fear, but if we are fearless, then there is no fear. The emotion of fear keeps us alive. It will also stifle your progress if you don’t check it. Live with fear objectively. Be courageous when needed and fearless when not.

Planning thought of the week:

Planning helps to fill in the blanks of the unknown and mitigate your and your team’s fears. When we know what to do, our fear of the unknown and failure is mitigated. The key to creating a plan for the future is making assumptions. The assumptions in your plan fill the gap for what will be. I won’t cover assumptions this week; that’s a more extended discussion. Assumptions are necessary to plan and mitigate the risks accepted with moving forward. And what are risks? Another name for fear.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

I’ve been using a couple of different AI bots on and off, and last night during our Veteran Business Leader Mastermind (VBLM), we talked about implementing AI into your business. My two biggest lessons so far on implementing AI into your business are to understand how to write a prompt and not wholesale trust the answer. Because it is still a new tool that most people are still figuring out how to use. There is still time for AI Prompt consultants to get into the mix and make some serious quick cash over the next year or two. Because the prompts must be so wordy and detailed, it isn’t like a normal query you would put to someone in a conversation. There is almost a ridiculous amount of detail in the prompt to get what you want. That’s where someone (a human) who understands how to take who you are, what your business is, and what you are trying to do makes the solution so much better. If you have tried to use AI but didn’t like your results, Check your prompts. If you don’t want to spend the time learning the prompt language, hire someone who knows it and get them working to save you time.

Veteran opportunity of the week:

If you want to learn or explore agriculture as a post-military career, this VA page has a long list of opportunities, from working at the USDA to skill-bridge opportunities on farms. Even if you aren’t sure the ag business is for you, this page is worth checking out because of the many opportunities you can take advantage of as a Veteran: Free Farming and Beekeeping Opportunities

Someone I met this week:

I had two friends I haven’t talked to in a couple of years touch base with me again this week. How nice it was to rekindle our relationship and catch up with what’s going on in their lives. Janine Bolon and I have known each other through podcasting for a few years, and I love that she has weathered the, how bad are the repairs going to be on my house storm to get her Fractional Chief Marketing Officer business running at full speed again. The next day, I caught up with my buddy Doug Paul, who is now retired from the National Guard and is investing in small businesses to boost their growth. It was great to hear how both are doing so well and enjoying life fully.

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