Look fear in the eye and start your business

Jacqueline Raw, owner and founder of Ycagel

The fear of failure is such a tangible force that if left unchecked, it can completely derail our attempts to achieve success. In fact, it has such a significant influence in business and in life that countless books have even been written about it.

Moving from fear and into action when you stuck takes two deliberate tactics.

Getting beyond your fear of failure

When I first launched my consulting business, I had massive goals and although I was putting in the hours in to make it happen, my efforts were not equal to the rewards. The worst part is that I had no idea how to fix this. I then realised that I was operating from a fear of failure and as a result was playing things safe. Instead of saying YES to opportunity, I said YES to stability - in total contradiction to my goals!

The reality is that I am not alone. Most of us fear losing everything (especially now!) and are so afraid of making a wrong call and having the carpet ripped up from underneath us that we do nothing.

Instead, take some time and ask yourself one question: “What's the worst that can happen?”. If all your deepest fears come true, and every single one of your choices turns out to be wrong, what is the absolute worst thing that can happen as a result?

This is such a scary exercise, but you really need to go deep! Reflection and the confrontation of our unspoken fears is the ONLY starting point on your journey to success. If you cannot express your deepest fears, you can never hope to overcome them, and they will keep you stuck in the same place you've always been.

And if you think you've gotten to the bottom of your fear, dig a little deeper – there's always more to go. Write it down, read it and re-read it – look at the story you've subconsciously been telling and retelling yourself!

Creating the comeback plan

After reflecting on the fears that have been guiding your decision-making up to this point, it will be easy for you to see why you're not where you thought you'd be. It's time to put fear in its place, and the only way to do that is to create your comeback plan.

Creating my comeback plan was one of the single most significant turning points in my business. For the first time, I was able to articulate what I was afraid of, objectively, without the emotional irrationality of 'fear'. The crippling emotion of fear was removed the second I had a plan to come back from my biggest, completely-imagined failures!

Your comeback plan is one of the most powerful weapons you have against combating your fear of failure. It allows you to quantify the risks objectively, know that no matter what you're going to be okay (because you've mentally taken yourself to the worst possible place in your life) and then you’ve created the plan that will help you claw your way back.

This is the biggest momentum builder I will ever be able to share with you. It's the catalyst that will help unlock the momentum you've been craving. Your comeback plan needs to be as detailed or as high level as you need it to be. As long as once you're done, there's nothing left to do but swing for the fences!