The Battle of Fear

In 24 years of business we have had success and failures. We have made many changes over the years. For me it all started 1992 someone signed me up for Amway. I didn’t know they signed me up. And then 1993 discovered I was in Amway and started working to build a business. The most important part of that year is that I discovered the dream of self-employment. It hadn’t even been on my radar. 1994 I met Dennis in Amway…where he was wildly successful. 1995 we both left Amway after we discovered the unethical business practices in our line of sponsorship.

Between 1992 and today we have learned a lot, we could write a series of books about the mistakes we’ve made and the lessons. One of the greatest lesson has been to stand up to fear because we have made big changes, taken huge risks and reinvented ourselves several times.

Every. Single. New. Direction. Has. Caused. Fear. In. Me.

The dictionary definition of fear is: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Or could it be: False Evidence Appearing Real?

If you truly exam your fear, does it have the fangs you imagine? Will it really hurt as badly as you think it will to fail? Or are the valuable lessons to be learned no matter what the outcome is?

Fear is often a product of our thoughts. It grows into something monstrous, but in reality it is just a tiny mouse if we chose to look closely at it.

Okay this is a rat…but let’s pretend it is mouse. Look at that mouse…and his teddy bear! Seriously I’ve been trying to find a way to incorporate this picture into something since I found it.

Fear is just a feeling…you can get over it if you chose to look past the obstacle. Too many people never take the first or next step in their business because of fear. Face your fears and wipe your tears.

My daughter Caiden was thrown from a horse during her 7th birthday party. She got back up, spit the dirt out her mouth, put her boot back on and climbed back upon that horse. I’ll never forget the image. So now when I face down my fears I imagine myself wiping away the tears, spitting the dirt out of my mouth and climbing back into business.

Failure in business is commonplace, and yet still well guarded secret. The mindset of a successful entrepreneur requires embracing failure as a learning experience.

Fear of failing, fear of success, fear of the humiliation of failure, fear of looking stupid, fear of growth, fear of succeeding…these are universal fears.  Are your fears false evidence appearing real?