04 Overcome your fear
Before you even begin creating an online business, you have to overcome your fear. You can read this book and run through all the technical ‘how to’ steps to get you started, but more than anything business is a mind game. And online business differs significantly from traditional business in that you are putting yourself out there at the front. There's no brand to hide behind. It's you, your expertise, your thought leadership.
You're streaming live online, sharing your thoughts and ideas around making a positive impact in the world. It's great, but there's no getting around it — it's scary. It's very easy to fall into the comparison trap and not feel good enough, to be so concerned with the judgement of others that you feel paralysed, afraid to step into the light and share your gifts with the world. Fear is the number one barrier that holds people back from achieving their dreams.
You're reading this book because you're attracted by the vision of building a million dollar business with a few staff, and making a big impact in the world, while still having the space and time to live a great life outside your career. All the tools you'll need are available to you, but you have to want that vision badly enough that your desire outweighs the fear you'll inevitably feel when you push through beyond your comfort zone to do things that you've never done before.
One of the best solutions to overcoming fear that I have learned is what Tim Ferriss calls fear setting. The link to his original TED talk is at milliondollarmicrobusiness.com.
Here's a simplified version:
1. Fill in the table that follows with everything you're afraid of
When you think about creating your course and sending it out into the world, what is it you're afraid of? For example, you're spending all this money on getting the business started. What if it doesn't work? What's going to happen in the world down the line? What if you put it out there and everyone thinks, ‘She doesn't know what she's talking about’? What if you put it out there and nobody buys it? Write down every single fear you have. Go to town — include them all!
2. Out of all those fears, what is the absolute worst thing that could happen?
I want you to go all doomsday here! Let your imagination run wild. Next to each of those fears, write down the absolute worst-case scenario for what you think could happen.
3. How would you recover from the worst-case scenario?
Imagine it has actually happened. In reality, the odds of every fear coming true are very, very slim and the potential upside is way more likely than the potential downside, but just in case the very worst should occur, and every single fear comes true, think about what it would take for you to recover from that to be exactly where you are right now. You'll find that often even the worst-case scenario is not that bad, and is certainly not enough to stop you from chasing your dreams and stepping into your new online business.
Whenever I feel like fear is holding me back from doing something, I think of the absolute worst-case scenario. My fears might go something like:
What if nobody buys my new program?What if people think I'm an idiot?What if I waste all of my money?What if I waste my time?
Then I look at how long it would take me to get back to where I was at the start. Usually after a failed business experiment it takes a month or two to recover and return to normal. I think I'll take that risk.
Let me tell you, all business is an experiment, whether you're new to the game or have decades of experience. You may look at people who seem to model your version of success and imagine they have never taken a misstep, but that just doesn't happen. We never cease to evolve and learn and take risks. A successful business is a beautiful experiment where you either win or learn.
So work out the absolute worst-case scenario if you were to go ahead. Could you deal with that situation? When you get comfortable with the worst-case scenarios and know how you'll recover from them, you are absolutely unstoppable.
4. What's the potential upside?
This is the fun part! You allowed your brain to do the catastrophising; now imagine what it would be like if it all turned out to be easy. What would it be like if all your dreams came true? What would life actually look like for you if you made seven figures a year, had a small, loyal team and did meaningful work that matters? It's a beautiful feeling when you prove to yourself that you can do something you've only ever dreamed of. If you're committed, it's not a matter of if but of when, and how many lessons you'll need to learn from failed experiments before you get there!
A fear-setting exercise
| What I want to do: | ||
| Potential downside (my fears) | What would happen if those fears came true? | How would I recover? |
| Potential upside (my dreams) | What would it mean for my life if it came true? | |
It's totally natural to feel nervous and apprehensive at the beginning of an exciting new journey. Of course you don't know what you're doing — you've never done it before. The only way to figure it out is to actually do it. Keep reading, and I'll show you how.
Action step
Complete the fear-setting exercise.
SUCCESS STORY
James Wedmore
Business By Design
James Wedmore was born and raised in sunny Laguna Beach, California, and now lives and runs his business in the beautiful Red Rocks country of Sedona, Arizona. For the past 15 years James has leveraged his expertise to