Working in education, I witness students fall short of their potential all too often. Sometimes it is from their own volition, of course. They fail to put forth the effort needed, they don’t ask for help when necessary or they just don’t care. But other times, they may lack the support system and role models […]
Fear can mean the difference between pursuing your dream and not going for it. It can mean the difference between living an average life, meeting the standards of what is conventional—or, as Swedish artist Avicii sings, “living a life you will remember.” Fear is at the root of our actions, choices, and eventual decisions that shape our life.
Being successful in a business requires not only the relevant technical knowledge, familiarity with the niche you are about to enter and a mastery of one’s skill, but also coming face to face with every entrepreneur’s worst enemy which is fear. It doesn’t matter whether you are setting up a home based business or planning for a full time startup company, fear has a way of taking the steam right out of you once you fail to deal with it. As a small business owner, you must confront all your fears and seek to overcome them in order to succeed in whatever business you have decided to venture into.
If you are a first time entrepreneur looking to take that bold step into the world of business, here are the Top 10 most common fears of entrepreneurs and how to overcome them.
What are the common fears confronting an entrepreneur?
1. Fear of Failure
This definitely tops our list of most common fears, and one that prevents many entrepreneurs from ever taking a positive action. The fear of failure is that tiny voice whispering into your ears that everything could go wrong in the business. The best way to overcome this fear is to accept that failure is possible, even for the most gifted entrepreneurs. With every failure comes an added value in strength, courage, wisdom and knowledge. Whenever you experience any setback, do a little soul searching to find out what mistakes were yours, why you made them and what you learnt it all.
2. The Fear of Being Wrong
This is also another common fear most entrepreneurs face when setting up a business. The fear of being wrong is a bit more subtle than the fear of failure, and therefore potentially deadlier. While the fear of failure can prevent you from starting a business, the fear of being wrong can cause you to pursue a foolhardy business strategy even when it’s crystal clear that you need a change of approach. To overcome this fear, you need to first recognize this as a problem that can harm your business and put aside any ego that makes you stay on a course of action because you are emotionally attached to a certain way of doing things or getting results.
3. The Fear of Lack of Education and Training
Entrepreneurs, for the most part are self motivated. But in some cases, entrepreneurs may develop the fear of feeling they are not well trained and educated enough to handle their business or cope with the challenges of the business. Overcoming this fear is fairly easy. Acquiring the right education and relevant training is the best and most effective way of overcoming this fear. For entrepreneurs facing this fear, you can get yourself educated by preparing yourself and your business for difficulties you might encounter by taking PMP Exam Prep courses, or completing a project management training program.
4. The Fear of Not Being Able To Please Everyone
The fear of not being able to please everyone is another common fear that can be hazardous to your business as an entrepreneur. Succeeding in a business requires that you deliver something that someone wants. This much is evident. However, it does not mean that you can please everyone. In your desire to please and accommodate everyone, you may end up not pleasing anyone in particular. To overcome this fear, you will need to identify your market and focus on pleasing the people that make up the bulk of your target market.
5. Fear of Not Knowing Where To Start
Another common fear that many would-be entrepreneurs all over the world face on a regular basis is the fear of not knowing where to start. Right after drawing up their business plans and marketing strategies, most entrepreneurs don’t know where to start and are overwhelmed by the fear of stepping off on the wrong foot, especially when it comes to setting their ideas in motion. To overcome this fear, start out by finding someone who achieved success in the business you are setting up. Learn about this person of interest and see if you can structure your business inline with theirs, in such a way that it will be of benefit to you.
6. Fear of Not Attracting Clients
Part of your main objective business owner is to offer products and services to people who are in need of it. It’s frightening to take the risk of offering your talent or services to the world and wondering if they will be valued or whether you will attract the right customers to your business. This is another common fear most entrepreneurs in the world to have to come to terms with. The best way to overcome this fear as an entrepreneur is to approach your business with joyfulness, while constantly delivering your services to inline with industry standards. You will no doubt experience a turn of the tide when you consistently deliver to the expectations of your clients.
7. Fear of Being Considered Eccentric
Many entrepreneurs also face this common fear; most especially when their business ideas and marketing strategies seem a little out of the ordinary. Some people may think that you are crazy to start a new business out of the blues, expecting you to do the safe and sane thing by working for someone else and not taking any risk. The best way to overcome this fear is to believe in your abilities and use your talents to convince others to believe in them, too. Accepting your eccentricity and using it to your advantage is also another wonderful way of overcoming this fear.
8. The Fear of Not Being An Expert
Even though you probably know enough about your business or product to make important decisions or solve most of the nagging issues that may arise, many entrepreneurs still face the fear of not being considered as experts in their line of business. This fear, however minor it may seem, has a way of limiting your potential as an entrepreneur. For the things about your business you don’t yet know, there’s no shame in constantly learning and finding answers to them. Learning is about your business is a continuous process that will surely lead to perfection in the long. Committing yourself the quest for excellence is the best way to overcome this fear.
9. The Fear Disappointing Your Family
While as an entrepreneur, you may be scared that your new business might not provide enough for your family, especially when they have given you all their support right from the very beginning when you voiced out your intentions. Many entrepreneurs face the fear of being seen as a disappointment to members of their family, and even friends at times. This happens particularly when the business is experiencing dry spells with no oasis in sight. The most effective way of overcoming this fear is to speak with your family members and intimate them the challenges you are facing, while giving them the assurance that you won’t be backing down any time soon. Be vocal with them about any risks you’re about to take and how important it is for you to invest energy and time into the success of this business.
10. The Fear of Inadequate Funding
Setting up a new business as an entrepreneur would be a walk in the park only if every person with a business idea could stroll into the nearest financial institution and receive a loan to steam roll their business ideas into reality. Sadly, that seems not to be the case as many entrepreneurs have to source the necessary funds needed to startup a business. The fear of not being able to source for adequate funding for their business is another common fear most entrepreneurs face and also the reason why may business ideas fail to go beyond a business plan. Overcoming this simply involves creating a realistic business plan with calculated steps on how you intend to the raise the startup capital needed for your business.
Failing forward
I clearly remember a period during the late 1990s during which I felt like a failure. I felt washed up. I felt like I was sleepwalking through life, accumulating debt, eating too much, working in a job I hated. Every time I ate a hamburger or bought something on credit — or worse, bought a hamburger on credit — I felt this failure meant that I was a failure.
But what I eventually learned was that failing at one thing is not failing at all things. And, in fact, failure is a necessary part of growth. Life is filled with trial and error. In order to walk the path to success, you need to make some wrong turns along the way.
What I learned, to use John C. Maxwell’s terminology, was to “fail forward”, to use each mistake to make myself better. He writes:
One of the greatest problems people have with failure is that they are too quick to judge isolated situations in their lives and label them as failures. Instead, they need to keep the bigger picture in mind. [A successful baseball player] doesn’t look at an out that he makes and think of failure. He sees it within the context of the bigger picture. His perspective leads to perseverance. His perseverance brings longevity. And his longevity gives him opportunities for success.
There’s a reason that one of Get Rich Slowly’s core tenets is: Failure is okay. As I was paying off my debt, I made lots of mistakes. I still do. When I bought my Mini Cooper, for example, I didn’t do everything I could have done to get the best deal possible. That’s okay. I try not to let mistakes drag me down. Instead of focusing on the things I did wrong during that transaction, I remember that in the Big Picture, I’m doing awesome. And I’ll try to use my mistakes to do better next time.
Seven ways to fail forward
In Failing Forward, Maxwell writes that there are seven key abilities that allow successful people to fail forward instead of taking each setback personally. Successful people:
These seven points form a firm foundation for dealing with failure in all parts of life, including personal finance. As you pay off your debt, as you learn to invest, as you cut your spending, remember that some failure is inevitable. But you are not your mistakes. Own them, learn from them, and move on. Continue to pursue your goals.
Stepping stones to success
Maxwell peppers his book with anecdotes from celebrities, entrepreneurs, and famous people like Edison and Mozart. He uses their stories to illustrate how successful people don’t let failure trap them; they “fail forward” instead. He also cites scientific research and shares stories from his own life.
Failing Forward is a motivational book, one that helped me break out of a funk and put me in the right frame of mind. Reading this helped me realize — again — that failure isn’t an end. It is, as Maxwell notes, just a stepping stone to success.
Are you working so hard, visualizing, meditating, pushing, pulling, doing everything you can to make your dreams of the life that you want manifest into your life? Do you figure that by putting more attention toward it? and giving it your all? that it will bring it all that much faster?
You may want to rethink ‘how’ you’re going about getting the life that you are focusing on. You see, when you realize that whatever you are focusing on, thinking, and feeling the Universe is matching, you will then continue to be pushing, pulling, hurrying, and rushing to achieve the dream you want? and that dream will remain in the future. Making rush decisions and not listening to the inner you will steer you in a whole different direction and create more frustration which attracts right back to you through the Law of Attraction.
Just how do you go about getting what you want in your life without having to push it into existence? By letting it come to you. This doesn’t mean that you sit back and do nothing but it does mean that you have to release all those feelings of rush and deadlines that you have placed on your goal. Instead of ‘working against the clock’ you can sit back and enjoy life as the Universe takes care of ‘how’ it happens.
When the Universe taps on your shoulder and reminds you that it’s action time, then you can get into gear for whatever action is required. This process can happen with ease as long as you see it with ease and live in total mental ease right now. Part of the process of getting what we want is in the “getting there” and if you are enjoying the journey you are already creating more moments to enjoy.
How can you guarantee that your dreams will come? By living each day expecting they will come and staying in a space of total gratitude. See all the joy that you can find in your life right now. Even when you have ‘one of those days’ find the joy within it and focus on that. If you encounter a negative situation, look for the solution instead of seeing the problem. Make a mind shift recognizing that you are thankful for each and every situation even if you’re not sure why. When you can live in that frame of mind and visualize your life with ease your dreams will come.
Take hold and begin to focus on everyday life and build a more positive day each day. Find the nugget of gold in each day and you will soon be on your way to the life you want to live. Your inner you knows what you want to do even if you don’t yet know. It will be revealed to you when you are ready to hear it, so get ready by living in positive thought. Be ready to take action but don’t go chasing your life but instead let it all come to you with ease by your own positive thoughts and feelings. Have a blessed new month of October 2018.
It’s no secret that everyone wants to be popular with others. You want to be liked and respected among your friends, family, and associates.
Above all, you want to like and respect yourself, and to feel yourself to be a valuable and important person. Fortunately, everything you do that makes other people feel good about themselves makes you feel good about yourself as well. You can actually improve the way you feel by making other people feel important. This is the key to great personal relationships.
The first need that each person has is for acceptance. Whenever you express unconditional acceptance of another person, his or her self-esteem goes up. The person feels valuable and important as a unique and special individual.
The need for appreciation is a deep subconscious desire of every person you meet. When you satisfy this need, you will become one of the most popular people in your world. And what is the key to expressing gratitude and appreciation? Simple. Just say, “Thank you” on every occasion.
Perhaps the deepest emotional need that people have is the desire for praise and approval. Each person is deeply affected by the quality and quantity of approval they get from others, especially others who they respect very much.
Another way to build self-esteem in others, and to make them feel important, is to express admiration on every occasion. Make it a policy to admire people for their accomplishments, behaviors, possessions, and personality traits.
This means practice listening closely to others when they are talking. It is one of the most powerful self-esteem building behaviors of all. Whenever you listen attentively to another, their heart rate speeds up. They feel happier and more valuable. They like and respect you more as a result. The more you listen closely to another person, the more that person feels that you are important and valuable as well.
The keys to effective listening are simple. First, listen attentively, without interrupting. Second, pause before replying. Don’t rush in with whatever is on your mind. Third, questions for clarification by asking, “How do you mean?” Finally, feed it back in your own words.
As Aristotle said, “Man is a social animal.” We live our lives within the context of our relationships with others. The more and better relationships we have, the happier and busier we are. The more you stay involved with other people, the longer you will live and the more enjoyable will be those years.
Pick out the person that you like the least that you deal with on a day to day basis. Next time you see that person admire something about them. You can comment on their dress, grooming, work or even their possessions. You will be surprised how differently that person will react to you in the future.
Brian Tracy has been empowering business professionals by sharing his knowledge all over the world. His techniques will allow you to reach your goals and achieve the unthinkable.
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This quote says it all when it comes to setting goals and simplifying home and work life. Many times we will make tasks or situations more difficult than they need to be because we allow our emotions to get in the way.
People that I have talked to have mentioned they feel their work life is becoming more difficult to balance and they cannot accomplish what is necessary each day. When they come to work each morning they are frustrated because they were not able to complete the work from the prior day and know that today they will probably get further behind.
The only opportunity to catch up will be to either come in on a Saturday or stay late in the evening and they already feel their home life does is short.
The would like to hope that someone in upper management is going fix the situation, but in reality this will probably not happen.
There are no quick fixes. You must begin with “a single step” as Lao Tzu states above or you will not move forward.
There are a few steps that you can take that will get you started in the right direction.
At the end of the day look at what you did accomplish and not what you did not. You will feel better and be more inspired to get back to work tomorrow.
“Life is actually really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ~ Confucius.
Happy New Month….
Short Terms Goals lead to Long Term Success.
Hard workers can only focus on either a short-term or a long-term perspective. They either focus on instant gain, for example working hard for a few days to reap the reward, or they focus in the long-term, sacrificing many mini benefits and rewards they could reap along the way. The problem with both is that this doesn’t lead to long-term maximization of created, delivered and captured value.
Smart people are focused on both. First they ask themselves what kind of long-term consequences each action they take will have on their lives. Smart workers never fail to consider where their decisions are taking them in the long-term and whether the chosen path leads to unfair advantages and superior positions in future life. But by having that long-term goal in mind, they also consider the short-term perspective. They don’t have a problem in going after the low-hanging fruit and reaping small rewards along the way that motivate them even more on their way to the final outcome.
If you want to work smarter:
Remember Short Terms Goals lead to Long Term Success.
This one is a no-brainer, but smart people stick to it very strictly. You’re the average of five people you spend most of your time with. Smart workers are very aware that they have to hang out with people who are on the way of achieving or have already achieved what they want to achieve. Smart workers want to hang out with people who are smarter than them and who are superior in some way; then they want learn as much as possible. Smart people very carefully choose who they spend time with.
Hard workers, on the other hand, are afraid of people who are better than them. They’re afraid to ask their boss to go for a drink. They compensate for their fear by working hard and hoping that someone will notice them. That’s not how things work. You have to be proactive, not reactive, if you want to be a smart worker; that also includes very carefully choosing who you will spend time with.
If you want to be a smart worker:
Have a lovely day ahead.
CONSIDERING POSITIVE LIMITS
Smart workers know how to set positive limits. They put a lot of thought into their minimums and maximums, and know how to maximize value creation and quality of life. They know how to set limits in their own life and with other people. They aren’t afraid to speak up and even set very strict limits with their bosses, clients, superiors and even family.
Hard workers usually try to please everybody as much as possible. Ironically, nobody is really satisfied in the end. Smart workers are aware of that and thus they set limits early when building new relationships. They also know how to set limits for themselves. For example, what is the minimum of exercise every week, what is the maximum for spending and the minimum for donating, what is the optimal amount of time for hanging out and socializing, and so on.
One way of considering limits in your life to work smarter is also what kind of tasks and projects you undertake. Which opportunities you say yes to, as we were discussing before. You can have, for example, a minimum for how complex and big a project must be and how much value must be created from your side, before you even consider it.
If you want to be a smart worker:
 | MARTIN IDRIS BALASA on HANGING OUT WITH THE BEST PEOP… |
 | youngichu on Your Passion vs Purpose |
 | Monseeka Peter on Your Passion vs Purpose |
 | Medy on Your Passion and Purpose |
 | Marta Frant on Your Passion vs Purpose |
John Young Akpan 