I’m talking about fear. 

Fear is the oldest and strongest emotion that all human beings share. It’s actually hard-wired into our nervous system – our subconscious. And it creates its own self-fulfilling dynamic as people give in to it.

You see, at the end of the day, I would say the majority of people are all too afraid of offending people, of stirring up conflict, of standing up or out from the crowd, of taking bold action.

And when an entrepreneur gives in to fear like that, they lose energy, they lose momentum, they lose the ability to be confident in their decision making and to take advantages of the opportunities that fit in with their own strategic alignment.

Unfortunately all that eventually translates into inaction. And that inaction or procrastination ultimately leads many people to have less and less confidence over time.

Today, in my view, reality of life has become something that most people try to avoid.  Something they want to escape from by means whatever means.  And our culture has manufactured endless fantasies for us to consume whether it’s in the movies or on TV. Anything to help escape for a period of time.

No matter how challenging the economic times might be, we now live in a society of relative prosperity.  We are all better off than our ancestors. But in many ways that has turned out to be a detriment to the resilient spirits of many people.

Today, most people feel that they naturally deserve things. That they are due certain privileges and when any setback occurs, it’s almost like a surprise. How could it have ever happened?

And because we live in these comfortable circumstances, our main goal then becomes how to maintain the comfort and security that we have.

Because we have these layers of fear that we’re neurologically hard-wired for, the natural tendency is to interpret any minor, temporary obstacles as something larger – as bigger setbacks, as crises.

We become more sensitive to the slightest risk or threat to the status quo. We find it harder to tolerate feelings of fear because they are now more vague and troubling as opposed to direct and acute. So many people default into a passive mode rather than taking action to face down our perceived threats.

You must use that gift to fight both escapism and fantasy and move in the opposite direction.  Instead you have to focus outward and become a keen observer of everything that’s going around you.  Because what you are fighting for is clarity. You don’t want to escape. Most of us realize that things happen, but it’s your mind that chooses to interpret them either as positive or negative.

What every successful entrepreneur needs to do at some point is take the opposite approach to the norm if they’re going to be successful. Instead of becoming discouraged and depressed by any obstacle, they must see it as a wakeup call. As a challenge that will transform you into a better, more successful entrepreneur.  Into someone who can be successful no matter what’s thrown at you.

When that happens, your energy levels rise. You move to the more aggressive side of growing your business. You are able to surprise your competitors with boldness and ultimately, you care less what people think and paradoxically this causes them to admire you more.

And the way you do that is as I said, through a process. You have to make a choice.

And I’m going to delve into that a little more in depth in the next issue!