Feel the fear and do it anyway

Today I feel excited, exposed and extremely out of my comfort zone.

Today I launched my very first co-hosted podcast – Real Talk for Women in Business, with my good friend and colleague Leeha Debnam from Mind your Words.

I started this blog wanting to promote the podcast (which is going to be trending before you know it), but has actually morphed into something a little deeper.

Today, I want to talk about breaking free and ’doing it anyway’

Bring it on FEAR and VULNERABILITY

Leeha and I have been talking, pondering, daydreaming and feeling all the feels about doing a podcast for easily 12months.

We wanted to share our experiences, what we have learnt during our time as business owners, as well as provide insights that might just help someone who is starting out (or has an established business they are wanting to scale).

We let it ruminate for a little while. We weren’t quite sure if it was the right time or if we even had a story to tell – to be honest, I suspect our lack of momentum early on was due to the fear monster rearing its ugly head. 

We knew we just had to pull our finger out and do it, and look it was as scary as shit.

Being ‘out there’, being vulnerable, being seen, feeling like this big world is judging the shit out of you, is quite scary. 

Well….we did it anyway, we launched! We put those fears aside. We said thank you so much fear for being here, but I’m doing it anyway.

The fear, the feeling of not being protected and being highly visible to EVERYONE, ensured we really thought through what we were doing and that we were doing it for the right reasons.

 We were able to consider:

• Why we are doing this?
• What outcome are we hoping to get from putting ourselves out there?
• Who this message is for?

With these considerations in place, we removed any possibility of arrogance and we made space for humility and humbleness.

Six months ago I was thinking how the f@$k am I going do this. I don’t ‘do word’s well, l certainly struggle with speaking on stage, on a facebook live, let alone into a microphone – but with each podcast, I get a little more confident, a little bit better with my ‘words’. Heck, even writing this blog gives me a sense of nausea – but hey, I’m doing it anyway!

Clicking that ‘publish’ button was exhilarating. Now each time we record, edit and publish a podcast we are ensuring we are continuing to learn, continuing to push ourselves and continuing to grow as individuals and a team. 

The fear will never go away as long as I continue to grow.

~Susan Jeffers

This is me BREAKING FREE

I left my full time, well paying, safe & stable 23 year career nearly 3 years go. 

I had job security and I decided to trade all of this in to start my own business

There were many voices in my head (as well as people I knew) asking if this was the right thing to do? Do you have the right experience? Do you seriously want to leave all this? 

• I thought about my life’s purpose
• What I had gained over the past 40+ years?
• What I had missed out on?
• How I could continue to grow and evolve?
• What could go wrong – but then what could go oh so right?
• What did my heart truly desire?

I thought them all through – over and over again. I know I am here for more.

…. So I did it anyway.

Three years later and I am wondering why I didn’t take this leap sooner.

As I began to do things on my own, I began to taste the deliciousness of an emerging self-confidence.

~Susan Jeffers

My heart explodes with joy and love – EXPERIENCE, GROWTH & STRENGTH

I wasn’t content on just launching my own business, within 3 months I was planning a large scale event – 40 speakers, 150 delegates, a beautiful auditorium at the Hilton, Sydney. What was I thinking? I was new to the industry, I had no brand backing, I gave away more free tickets than paid, I went into huge debt to cover costs.

Have you heard the expression ‘ feel the fear and do it anyway’ by Susan Jeffers – well, I was petrified and I did it anyway.

Being a program manager from days gone by, how hard could it be to run a conference? Seriously, I could do this with one arm tied behind my back.

What I did learn through this experience, was my own resiliency and strength.

Being a new business owner, I was scared of the anonymity, I was worried I wouldn’t get the business I needed to grow, I feared being swallowed into obscurity. I knew I needed to take a leap of faith, I needed to push through the fear – and this certainly helped with my feeling of helplessness as a start up.

I did it anyway, and I lived to tell the tale!

REFLECTIONS

Have you heard of the 5 truths about fear by Susan Jeffers (yes, I know there is a Susan Jeffers theme here)? They really embody the kiss in the ass I need to continue my own transformation.

1. The fear will never go away as long as you continue to grow!
2. The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and…do it!
3. The only way to feel better about yourself is to go out and…do it!
4. Not only are you afraid when facing the unknown, so is everyone else!
5. Pushing through fear is less frightening than living with the bigger underlying fear that comes from a feeling of helplessness!

I reflect back on these moments in my life – leaving a stable career, running a kick ass event and launching a podcast. Yes they were important moments in time, but the ripple effect has meant more than just a new coaching business, just an event and just a podcast.

By starting my coaching business, I finally had the flexibility I had not allowed myself to have. It gave me the space to take care of my health which I had neglected for 20 years and it gave me the much needed space to spend quality time with my kids & hubby….oh, and I get to do what I absolutely adore – everyday!

By running an event, I got exposure, I networked, I heard amazing stories. My heart was full. On the other hand it also gave me additional insights into contract management (outside the backing of a corporate brand), small business & start ups supporting each other – the sense of collaboration over competition that I hadn’t seen whilst working in a corporate environment.

JUST CONSIDER

When you are presented with an opportunity, and all the feels, worries and ‘what if’s’ come to the surface – Consider for a second the ripple effect. Imagine the possibilities. Feel the strength from making something happen.

Mistakes, challenges, problems – in my eyes these are not bad – these are opportunities to grow, learn, discover and evolve.

So, just do it anyway!

You may be surprised and encouraged to learn that while inability to deal with fear may look and feel like a psychological problem, in most cases it isn’t. I believe it is primarily an educational problem, and that by reeducating the mind, you can accept fear as simply a fact of life rather than a barrier to success.

~Susan Jeffers

When I’m thinking about doing it anyway, I consider the following:

• Be clear why you want to do it?
• Are you doing it from a place of love, compassion or ego?
• What outcome are you expecting?
• Who are you doing it for?
• Stop comparing yourself to everyone else?
• What are you afraid of?
• Find your cheer squad?
• What will I miss out on if I don’t do this?
• When I break through, I’ll break free
• Is it safe?

Throughout our lives – there will be moments in time where you will need to make a call. 

So, just do it anyway!

If you are feeling all the feels, nervous to make a decision or wondering how you can fight through the fear, then please reach out for a chat

With love and light

Nic xx