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Entrepreneurophobia! Learn the Secret of How to "ICE" Your Fears Part II
By Walt Goodridge
As promised, here's valuable information on managing your
fears! ICE-ing your fears.
Like most entrepreneurs, I struggled to make my business more
and more successful. At times, I encountered numerous obstacles
which I feared were threatening my dreams. At other times I
knew exactly what I had to do, but just couldn't bring myself to
do it. For instance, I remember at one point being afraid to
send out too many advance copies of my first book, This Game of
Exposure for fear that some more established person or company
would simply steal my idea and run me out of business. However,
once I learned the four truths of fears, I developed my own
technique for conquering them: ICE-ing. To ICE your fears, you
must first (I)dentify, then (C)onfront, and finally (E)liminate
them. Let's take a closer look at each step.
Identifying your fears. The first step in conquering your fears
is to be honest with yourself. Once you've admitted to yourself
that fear is the reason you are not doing what you should be
doing, then ask yourself, what am I afraid of? Try putting into
words exactly what the consequences are that you fear. Don't be
surprised if at first you can't come up with any real reasons.
With practice you'll become more aware of what's really going on
in your head, and as you keep questioning each reason, you'll
get to the bottom line. Forcing yourself to put your feelings
and fears into words helps you to make sense of them, and to
understand yourself.
Confronting your fears. Confronting your fear means accepting
that you have them, and accepting what they say about you. In
other words, you may not like that you are the type of person
who is frightened by what others think of you, and so you'd
rather remain a definite failure than a possible success. But,
unless you accept these truths about yourself, you won't be able
to get to the next level.
Eliminating your fears. The basis of fear is uncertainty. You
are fearful of what you perceive might happen, but you do not
actually know what will happen. Fear is how we react when we
"don't know". Your goal then, in conquering your fears, is to
find the answer to the "what will happen if..?" question. Once
you realize this, you'll realize that only one thing can
accomplish this: Action! Action eliminates fear. Remember, we
said that your fear is based on the fact that you don't know.
So, once you take action, you'll immediately "know" what the
consequences are. You may fail, or you may succeed, but at
least you'll know the answer to the "what will happen if....?"
question. The fear has been eliminated. If you don't take
action, you'll live the rest of your life with that single
burning question: What if I had? Remember: A fear avoided
lingers for eternity. A fear confronted dies in a second.
Now none of this is intended to imply that it's going to be
easy. Being an entrepreneur is about taking risks. Risk taking
requires courage. Despite what many people believe, however,
courage is not the absence of fear, it is action despite the
fear! The fears never stop coming. As you conquer one, another
appears to take its place. What you can change, however, is how
you react to them. Eventually, what others will consider your
fearless approach to life, you'll know simply as a commitment
to action in the face of fear. You wont be eliminating your
fears, you'll be eliminating your fear of your fears! And that,
future Hip Hop Entrepreneur, is the key to success!
To help you on the journey of developing the courage you need
here are some other tips
Start small:
building up the courage to tackle your fears takes practice.
Start with the easier problems and work your way up to the
bigger issues.
Make daily affirmations:
An affirmations is a statement of a desired outcome stated in
the present tense. "I am a successful entrepreneur". "My
company is making enough money to support me." These are
examples of effective affirmations that you can write on 3"X5"
index cards and read them to yourself in the mornings and in the
evenings. What you'll be doing is reprogramming your mind to
think in terms of success!
Read motivational books
It's normal that your energy level will fluctuate. Several
good books exist which can help you keep the motivation high.
They can usually be found in the self-help or psychology
sections of your local bookstore. Live Your Dreams, by Les
Brown, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale
Carnegie,The Master Key to Riches and Think and Grow Rich by
Napoleon Hill are some of my favorites. I usually provide a
success reading list in all my books!
Hang out with positive people like you
Misery (and failure) loves company! Stay away from negative
thinkers and align yourself with people who are going or are
already where you want to be!
Hip Hop Culture, from Music to Art to Dance, is filled with
opportunity. The only reason more of us aren't taking the
plunge is fear of the unknown brought about by years of
conditioning. Those of us who sit on the sidelines willl
forever wonder what might have been. Those of us who are willing
to take a chance will grow and eventually be able to live our
dreams of being successful Hip Hop Entrepreneurs!! Success is
journey, not a destination! Peace.
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
