An entrepreneur is lying to you if they claim they haven’t ever been scared sh*tless.
Scared of the risk, scared of the reaction, or even just scared of the idea itself.
It’s not a flaw or a sign of a bad entrepreneur — a normal emotion to change is often fear, and it would be kinda weird to not doubt your ideas even a little. Like c’mon, where’s your filter??
But the funny thing is that in business we usually equate being scared to being weak– like “You can’t handle this!” and “You’re not up for the challenge!” If that’s the case, then how come so many people seek out scary situations? Horror movies, haunted houses, etc. Every single year during the month of October we literally PAY MONEY to be scared.
So “being scared,” while equally thought of as a sign of weakness is also something we readily seek out– like, for fun.
Why It’s Fun to be Scared
There’s definitely an addictive adrenaline rush that comes with being scared. When I was first starting my business, I had so many questions and so many doubts– and those fueled me. I wanted answers. Like going through a Haunted House, I didn’t quite know what was ahead of me, I knew it was probably risky, but I really wanted to do it anyway. I know I wasn’t in a life-threatening situation — I was opening a clothing boutique for God’s sake — and the thrill of the unknown was just exciting.
I’ve never found the exact same type of motivation and thrill of the unknown since those early days of my business, and my daily goals aren’t as daunting — but I do always try to keep my passion for new experiences alive.
For instance, now I put myself in smaller, uncomfortable situations that challenge me on a daily basis:
- Reaching out to people I think are “out of my league.”
- Introducing new product categories that I have no experience with
- Heck, even starting this blog was one of those “daily dares” to myself
Do you think fear is more helpful or harmful for an entrepreneur? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.