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Entrepreneurophobia! Conquering the Fear! - Part 1
By Walt Goodridge
If you've ever wanted to start your own business and jump into
the stream of but somehow never seemed to get up the courage to
take the plunge, you might be suffering from a common malady
which affects roughly 70% of the population: Entrepreneurophobia!
Quite simply, after growing up believing in the American dream
of working all of your life for a large company that will take
care of you and provide benefits for you and your family, taking
the leap into what most would consider an uncertain future is
quite daunting. But take heart, as an entrepreneur myself,
I'd like to share with you a new way of looking at what's
holding you back so you can break free and achieve your own
entrepreneurial dreams!
Naming the fear.
Being an entrepreneur has the glamour of being in charge,
calling the shots, setting your own hours, more personal
freedom, and just possibly the chance of making it really big
with that new idea, service or product. On the down side,
there are long hours, uncertainty, and of course, risk. Success
is not guaranteed, and the money doesn't always come with the
regularity of a day job. As a result, many of us choose to
suffer in silent desperation making others into millionaires,
while our own dreams of success go unfulfilled. What keeps most
of us shackled to the nine-to-five grind is plain, simple FEAR.
Fear of the unknown. But, don't worry, even successful
entrepreneurs experience fear. It's part of being human. The
trick is not to let it scare you into inactivity. The first
step in our task of conquering this fear is naming it:
Entrepreneurophobia, the fear of being an entrepreneur.
Fear of failure or fear of success?
Most of us have been programmed all our lives to believe that
"success" is simply going to school and getting a good job.
While these are admirable goals to pursue, they don't encompass
the entire realm of ways to live our dreams. Unfortunately,
the programming is so powerful, that any endeavor which we
consider that's not based on those norms is threatening to us
and to others. Starting one's own business is a bold move which
little of our life's teaching really prepares us for. As a
result, we are likely to suffer discouragement and even ridicule
from family and friends who view such plans as silly and
destined for failure. In addition, we often have to overcome
our own insecurities: What if I can't sell my music or product,
what if my business fails, what if I get sued, or end up in more
debt? How will I pay my rent? What will my family and friends
think of me if I fail? What will I think of myself?
Overcoming these self-doubts and negative influences doesn't
mean you'll be successful either. In fact, it may be just the
beginning of your troubles. Because, while many of us suffer
from a fear of failure, an equal number suffer from what we can
only call a fear of success! It's true. There are many
individuals who don't know how to handle success and, when
things are going well, appear to do everything in their power to
destroy everything they've worked hard to achieve. The story of
the superstar who "had it all" and then threw it all away on
drugs, sex or gambling is the classic example. Even after we
have achieved success, our own low self esteem may come back to
haunt us. The external image we've created--the one that
everyone else has of us--doesn't quite match the one we have of
ourselves. So, we subconsciously do what we can to get them to
match. So we end up sabotaging our own success. Then down
comes the facade of wealth, confidence, and success, to be
replaced with the old one of poverty, lack and negativity.
That's what fear can do to you. While the bad news is you may
never get rid of your fears completely, the good news is that
you can learn how to manage them.
Fear Management.
When you're in business for yourself, sales, employees,
expenses, taxes, growth and everything related to your business
require effective management. Fears, too, are as much a part of
being an entrepreneur, and need to be managed. Many potential
entrepreneurs fail even before they write their business plan,
simply because they don't practice fear management well enough
in advance and, just as importantly, during the life of their
venture. To help you get a handle on your fears and practice
fear management, here are a few basics you should know.
The Facts About Fears
1. Fear is at the basis of most of human activity. It's one
of the two reasons why we humans do ANYTHING. (The other reason
is love). From working, to war, to religion, to politics, to
sex, practically every aspect of what we call civilization is in
response to some fear or another. Fear of starvation leads to
the development of agriculture; fear of poverty leads to the
pursuit of wealth; fear of the elements leads to construction of
shelter; fear of death leads to the development of religion.
Fear of losing freedom, independence and territory leads to war.
2. All fears are learned. Behaviorial psychologists say that
the only fears we are born with are the fear of falling and the
fear of loud noises. All our other fears are learned, and like
a bad habits, can be unlearned. So there's hope!
3. Fears are not real. Fears are illusions. Fears do not
exist. They are your responses to ideas that you've created from
unreal beliefs. They have power only because you give it to
them. Remember the first time you spoke or performed in front
of an audience? The first time you dove into a pool? The fear at
those times was so overwhelming that you thought you wouldn't
survive into the next day. Well, you have survived, hopefully
with the knowledge that the fears are usually more powerful than
the thing we fear. In other words, fears rarely equal
consequences. As you face your fears, ask yourself: what's the
worst that can happen? If your idea doesn't sell, will the
death penalty be imposed? Doubtful. Many of us would probably
realize that our deepest fears are actually unfounded if we did
a realistic assessment. But many of us never do becasue often
it's easier to magnify our fear than to admit that the only
thing holding us back ..... is us.
4. Fears signal opportunities. The only way to grow in life
is to take yourself out of your "comfort zone". As long as you
keep doing only what you're comfortable with, you will never
grow. If something you're considering doing causes fear, the
fact that you feel the fear is probably an indication that this
is something you NEED and MUST do to grow into the next stage of
your life. As a child, you couldn't walk until you conquered
your fear of standing. You couldn't run until you conquered
your fear of walking. Fears are the mind's way of identifying
areas in your life that you need to work on. And as you do,
you may stumble, or even fall, but you ALWAYS learn and grow.
Be sure to read Learn the Secret of How to "ICE" Your Fears in
"Entrepreneurophobia--part 2! biz53
About the Author
Walt Goodridge, aka "the Passion Prophet" is author of "Turn Your Passion Into Profit: A Step-By-Step Guide for Transforming ANY Talent, Hobby or Product Idea into A Money-Making Venture!" Learn more about Walt, his philosophy and formula for making money in your own passion-centered business, order copies, and take the "PASSIONPRENEUR Personality Test" at http://www.PassionProfit.com
