F-E-A-R

With a fairly new entrepreneurial endeavor, I’m finding that the time frame in which goals are being met is quite different than what I had planned…not an uncommon scenario. As I meet with other local business owners & entrepreneurs for brainstorming, masterminding, networking, and support, I find that this is a common topic and one that is surrounded with fear…”Will my business last long enough for me to get the ‘big break’?” “Will my customer base grow fast enough?” “Am I positioned appropriately for my target market?”

I just received this instruction in an email from Martha, a fellow entrepreneur and mentor:

We have to stop beating ourselves up…read this article: http://www.skininc.com/articles/14986171.html

In the article titled, There’s a Fortune in Failure, by Gary Bradt, PhD, he stresses the importance of altering our perception of failure from a negative to a positive and gives 5 ways to do so. I recommend you read the article for yourself, but until then, here’s a summary of them:

1. Realize that each failure is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes
2. Have realistic expectations (both you and your client)
3. Understand that while success doesn’t require perfection, it does require action
4. Don’t be dominated and crippled by fear (heard of Susan Jeffers’ book, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway?)
5. Concentrate more on the ‘here and now’ and worry less about the ‘what if’ scenarios

How have you enjoyed success by overcoming a fear?