Thanks to my ICA coursework I’ve been doing a lot of work with my own Peer Coach. My homework as of late was to really think about the things I fear, why I lack trust, why I tend to play it safe and how to start overcoming these things in order to move my business (and my life) forward. I took it to a journal and part of what came out was this:
It’s getting to that time of year again when I start looking back on how much progress I’ve made since graduating from college. It’s been two years. Holy Moly!
While I know that I have come a long way in terms of creating awareness, forging my own path and helping others do the same – many times I still feel stuck or like I’m not moving fast enough. I’m sure it’s a feeling many of you are familiar with as well – you have an inkling of where you ultimately need to be but you’re not quite sure how to get there. I also get stuck in my own uncertainty.
The back story to all of this is simple and all too familiar for many of us: spend way too much money on a degree, move back home, can’t find a decent job to save your life. If you do find a job you’re either putting up with a lot of corporate B.S. or find out very quickly that it’s just not working out for you (in my case it took 6 months).
Your life comes at a crossroads very quickly upon graduation these days: put up with a lot of crap at a job where you probably didn’t even need a degree or forge your own path, make some work out of your passions, create the life you know you are meant to live.
Most of you already know what road you would take. After all, it’s a no brainer. Obviously you want the latter. You want to wake up excited every day.
So what’s stopping you and countless others from taking any action?
Fear.
Crippling, nauseating, heart wrenching fear.
The fear of things not working out. The fear that comes from not being able to trust that things will work out. The fear that comes from making the wrong decision. The fear that comes back from our past to haunt us. The fear of repeating our mistakes. In my case, the fear of not even being able to say the word “trust” out loud.
It’s natural. Our fear is there to protect us, to make sure we don’t do something stupid. But there comes a time when even fear oversteps it’s boundaries. There comes a time when fear is no longer protecting us and instead is only harming us.
As someone who has been there and still gets the occasional visit from the fear train, I’m here to tell you a few things that I’ve come to know through the process of creating my brand. Things that I need to start reminding myself of on a daily basis if I ever want to succeed in creating a business that will sustain me.
1. Get over it.
You’re never going to have everything planned out, you’re never going to see the future and there’s never going to be “a perfect moment” to get started. If you’re too busy fussing over your logo instead of actually putting the word out there, you have to rethink your priorities. If you’re too busy waiting for the perfect partner to come around instead of getting ballsy about sharing your feelings, then you’re going to be waiting a long time.
2. Every step you take is a step in the right direction.
Slowly but surely I have made progress and I know from the emails that I get that many of you have as well. We have to take the time to enjoy our little victories. Two years ago I had no job, no direction, no passion and a hell of a lot of heartache weighing me down. Now at least I have found my thing in personal development and I’m slowly turning it into a brand.
Just yesterday you may have written your first blog post or landed your first job, that in and of itself is progress!
3. It’s all about baby steps.
While some people are completely comfortable with taking big leaps, most are not (myself included). That’s why for some of us baby steps may be our best option.
You don’t have to quit your day job tomorrow. You don’t have to pack up your shit and move to the other side of the country tomorrow. You’re not going to make a huge business overnight.
But you can set up that website and you can start putting the word out there. As Danielle LaPorte says in her book The Fire Starter Sessions (paraphrasing here), slowly stop doing the things you don’t want to be doing and start replacing them with things you actually enjoy until you reach your ideal.
4. The time to start is NOW.
You need to take small steps starting today. Don’t wait until tomorrow, next week or next year. When inspiration strikes start immediately. Otherwise it’ll get put on the back burner and it will never get done.
On a totally related side note…
I’m uber proud to announce that I have been invited to contribute to Matt Cheuvront’s (Life Without Pants) latest project! It’s a 100% free ebook to help aspiring entrepreneurs, personal development junkies and anyone who wants to take a big leap live in the now.
He’s collecting stories from people, bloggers and entrepreneurs that he admires to show the world that the time for you to act is NOW! He’s also giving anyone a chance to be a part of the movement by allowing up to 50 submissions.
Check it out here for more information and your chance to be a part of the ebook!
Annndddd….if you haven’t already done so make sure to check out iBlog4Me for a ridiculously awesome community of like-mnded bloggers! If you’re looking to make some awesome online connections I highly recommend stopping by! You can also follow my blog with Bloglovin!
Sound off!
What is fear stopping you from doing? Feel free to share in the comments!
Image via Pepe Pont
