A few years back I wrote an article called “Facing the Fear Factor”. Surpisingly it’s the most widely read of any small business growth article I’ve ever written. Why?

Because everyone relates to the fear we face trying to succeed as entrepreneurs. Whether you’re just gathering the courage to strike out on your own, or you’ve been at it for a while, at some point you’re going to have to know how to prevent fear from stopping you from going after your dreams of building a successful small business.

I’ve helped hundreds of small business owners overcome fear and move toward success and I’ve faced the same fears myself. All of your fears fit into one of three simple categories.

Fear of Change

Few people enthusiastically embrace change. Change means we can never settle in and coast; we can’t decide we know all there is to know and just slide into a comfortable default mode. The ability to welcome change is what will fuel your ability to succeed in the small business game.

I’ve seen lots of owners who were afraid of technology, for example. And that fear stopped them from upgrading their websites, learning to use an autoresponder (one of the greatest, cheapest marketing tools around), or from using simple tools like e-mail properly. I’ve had clients tell me there was no way they could learn fairly simple technology systems that would give them more time and make them more money. Once I walked them through step-by-step, each one ended up admitting that their fear was unwarranted.

Fear of change can also stop you from leaving a dead end job and starting a business. It can stop you from outsourcing tasks you shouldn’t waste your time doing. We all tend to talk ourselves into accepting what is so we can avoid making profound and often uncomfortable changes.

Where is fear of change stopping you? The truth is that stagnation is boring and constant change is the reality of life whether we like it or not, so why not learn to embrac it. Figure out where change is in your best interest and in the interests of your future success and do what’s beneficial rather than what’s comfortable.

Fear of Failure

This is a big one that can manifest in many ways. It could appear as fear of not having enough money to start a business, or fear of not being able to make a substantial living as an entrepreneur. It could manifest as a fear of looking bad to family and friends if the business doesn’t make it. It could manifest as a fear of lacking financial security.

There is always some risk inherrent in owning a business. If you’ve weighed the risk and it makes sense to take it, then you need to look at you fear of failure, write down the worst that could happen, decide how you would deal with it, then go all out for your dream, knowing that the worst is unlikely to happen. I’ve experienced a failed business, and the failure was painful, but less so then the fear I indulged in before it happened. And what I learned from the failure was priceless.

Are you spinning your wheels, not moving forward with plans to start or grow your business because you’re afraid to fail? Are you going to let that fear keep you stuck with unfulfilled dreams for financial freedom and living the life you choose?

Fear of Success

You might be thinking, “that’s crazy–who’d be afraid to be successful?” Many people are and they don’t even know it. Here are some of the “fear of success” comments I’ve gotten from clients:

“No one in my family has ever made a lot of money.”

“I just can’t find the time to grow my business”

“If my business grows, I’ll be overwhelmed and have no time for my life”.

“I’m analyzing different ideas and don’t know how or when I’ll actually start”.

“I have to be careful not to take any action that might end up being a bad decision or poor choice.”

If any of these sound familiar, you may be afraid of success.

Look, it’s hard to admit you’re afraid, but everyone is, so you’re in good company.

Remember that fear is very often False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is usually just a string of negative thoughts that repeat over and over in your head. Once you become aware of them, you can change them, or move forward anyway because they will loose their power to determine your actions.

Remember, if you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.

Ready to boot those fears out the door and free yourself to achieve something great?

I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Janis

Okay you’ve probably had it up to here with hype about “The Secret”. The creator/producer Rhonda Byrne developed a brilliant strategy that garnered more top notch publicity than most of us could dream about.

I personally liked the movie but thought it was sorely lacking in real direction about how to use the Law of Attraction in our daily lives. The movie made it seem as if the secret was a magic formula that could instantly solve all our problems. Not a great suggestion in an instant gratification society.
But does it work? And if so, how can you use these basic principles to create the business of your dreams?
Well, actually I’ve been talking about the law of attraction for some time. I just called it something different–the Entrepreneurial Mind Set. It’s extremely powerful, but just like anything else worthwhile, you have to work at it.

It’s a fact that your thoughts and beliefs determine what actions you take. They also determine how you feel. For example, if you often feel overwhelmed and easily discouraged, that feeling of lack, frustration and sadness will lead you to act in ways that create more of the same. You most likely will procrastinate, dream but not implement, and find ways to avoid being proactive in your business for fear of getting poor results. I’ve seen this happen to lots of early stage business owners who are lacking the skills to think like a successful Entrepreneur even though they’re very good at what they do.

On the other hand, if you hold a deep belief that you can succeed and your thoughts create feelings of passionate commitment, excitement, engagement, and determination, you will act in ways that attract successful results.

Your thoughts and beliefs about yourself and the world determine how you feel. Your feelings determine how you act and whether others are drawn to you and your services. Would you want to do business with someone who always seemed negative, depressed, unhappy, ungenerous? I think you get the point.

Entrepreneurs who are successful and happy are engaged, passionate, excited, creative, open and honest with themselves. Do they have off days? Of course, we all do.

So how do you begin to practice the law of attraction in your life? First of all understand that the inner work you do will directly affect the outer results you get. So spend time every day in silence–no distractions. Meditate, comtemplate, plan, create. That’s your time.

Start by spending one week–and this won’t be easy–monitoring how you feel during your workday. You’ll most likely find that much of the day there’s an undercurrent of anger, fear, anxiety, or you’re flatlined (feeling nothing). If you can take a deep breath when you discover this and focus on something that makes you happy and excited, like your goals, your children, or the beautiful weather, you can change the direction of your thoughts. I often focus on the reason I do the work I do, and that lifts me up. You will start to find that people and situations that match your more positive emotional state will begin to come into your life. The quality of your clients will improve. You’ll be more prone to work smart and stop wasting time.
It becomes like the domino effect. Little by little, you begin to create the life you want. You also bounce back faster from the set backs.

Look at your current situation and how happy you are with it. That will tell you a lot about the thoughts and beliefs that are currently running your life. When you can begin to control your thought patterns, habits and emotional reactions, you will begin to attract exactly the success you want.

Janis