Tackle the Fear of Owning a Business

According to peak performance psychologists we spend most of our time experiencing the emotions of anxiety and stress while anticipating fear full events that never actually happen. Fear has been described as F.E.A.R. False Evidence Appearing Real. Does this acronym apply to your life? Think back on your life for a moment. Can you remember hesitating, fretting, anguishing, and avoiding challenges because of your fear of what might happen? Imagine looking back on a lifetime full of stress and anxiety only to discover that your fears were imaginary. In the final days of your life, how disappointed would you be knowing that you allowed fear to determine the extent of your achievements and the depth of your experience here on earth?

Isn’t it true that some of your proudest moments in life came from those moments when you took action in the face of fear? As we approach a lofty goal, face the unknown, or take on a challenge we are almost always met with a degree of fear. And when we take action in the face of fear, and the course of action is over, isn’t it true that we almost always say to ourselves, “It wasn’t as bad as I thought.” You see, by exaggerating the size of our obstacles we simultaneously justify our excuses, and we give ourselves permission to remain in our comfort zone.

Let me ask you this. What kind of rewards can you expect if you remain in your comfort Zone? More importantly, what kind of a person will you become if you remain in your comfort zone? At this point in our lives you and I have learned that the greatest rewards in life remain outside of our comfort zone. So, if you find that transitioning from employee to business owner is currently out of your comfort zone, then I say, “Fantastic! That’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be.”

Taking action in the face of fear and venturing beyond our comfort zone is where we find greater rewards and a glimpse of our unlimited potential. Furthermore, when we tackle fear head on we almost always discover that the obstacle wasn’t as powerful as we thought. I remember one day while discussing these ideas, a client of mine asked me the following: “don’t you think that sometimes the opposite is true, that sometimes obstacles are greater than we anticipated?” Absolutely. And those are the moments, I explained, that we have the opportunity to discover an even greater truth…that WE are more powerful than we think. As human beings we have a tendency to enlarge our obstacles and reduce our power, and as we do we give ourselves permission to shrink and pursue smaller dreams and goals. Don’t avoid obstacles, and don’t make them bigger than they really are. Take action in the face of fear and allow the obstacles to make you stronger.

I submit to you that owning a business has obstacles, and that most of the time those obstacles will appear larger than they really are. And on occasion you will run up against a daunting challenge that meets you unprepared. You will be required to walk in faith and step way beyond your comfort zone. Then, you will find an inner strength that will carry you through. You will find it because as the owner of the business you will have no choice. And as you persevere and find a way to make things work you will become even stronger, wiser, and a more powerful leader. When you look back on this challenge and the person you have become you will say to yourself, “I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

In his masterpiece journal on human achievement, “The Law of Success,” Napolean Hill explains that a very successful businessman was asked to what he attributed his great accomplishments in life, and the successful man replied, “all of the obstacles along the way.”

Many people avoid business ownership because of the inherent obstacles and uncertainty. In order to tackle the fear of owning a business I recommend that you reverse this logic. The obstacles, the challenges, and the uncertainty that come with owning a business are not intelligent reasons to avoid owning a business, rather, they are among the most compelling reasons why one ought to pursue business ownership.