You know the feeling; it’s that tiny voice in the back of your mind and the butterflies in your stomach when you have the opportunity to take a giant leap in your business. Unfortunately, for too many people, the risk seems too great, even when there could be a great result on the other side.

At 2015’s Bxponential, Emanuel Comino spoke about the impact just 20 seconds of courage can have when the fear starts to set in. It’s those 20 seconds when you decide to leap into a new opportunity, which set you up for everything that is still to come.

Your business can be a little like a choose your own adventure story; when you’re faced with that nerve-wracking situation, you can ask yourself two questions to decide to move onto the next page:

What if you don’t?

There is a risk in jumping into the unknown – absolutely no one will deny that. Even entrepreneurs who’ve been in the game for decades will tell you that the fear of failure is still there, tapping them on the shoulder. Instead of turning around, they stop caring about failing; they believe in what they’re giving their clients, so they can keep moving forward with confidence.

“Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”  – J.K Rowling

The fear of failure has crippled many throughout history – some are so scared of rejection and failure that they do nothing at all. This approach keeps you in your comfort zone for now, but it means that you aren’t trying new things or pushing yourself and your business to the limits. How can you know what’s possible if you’re not willing to try?

What if you do?

Guess what? A little unease is expected when you’re faced with a big decision, conversation or opportunity. Instead of letting that fear be a roadblock, let it be your guide. When you start to feel a little uneasy, let that be the sign that reminds you it might be time to use those 20 seconds of courage you’ve been saving up.

People who have fears – perhaps of spiders, the dark or even dogs – are often told to confront those fears; looking at a spider, putting yourself into a dark room or interacting with a dog can be incredibly scary, but if you do it often enough, it starts to become normal. The fear may not ever go away, but you can start to gain control over it and maybe one day, you might look back and say ‘why was I ever worried about that?’.

Remember, it’s courage over fear – don’t waste your time trying to eliminate your fear, instead, build up your courage so that it’s ready to go when fear does start to creep in.

In your business story, are you going to choose to stay safe on page one, putting things off forever to avoid failure? Or, will you choose to leap with full confidence to see what the rest of the pages in your story look like?

 

Through our Business for Life program, we help business owners from across Australia build a toolbox of skills that they can use to grow their success. We’d love to chat about how we could help you. Call Bx on 1300 068 229 or find out about our Business for Life Program.