At some point or another, every entrepreneur has wondered if they are on the right track and if the business they are pouring their time, money, and energy into will work out how they hoped it would be. But the reality is that these fears and doubts are just part of starting your own business. As an entrepreneur, there will be times when you're unsure that things will work out. It is in these moments that you need to be able to take a step back and look at the situation and your thoughts in a different way.

Financial insecurities, temporary setbacks, and the usual challenges that life throws at you can be daunting. Most 'would-be' entrepreneurs will throw in the towel and quit when the going gets tough. They falsely believe they don't have what it takes to succeed or that the journey is too challenging for them. They fear the 'hard yards' and the trials that must be endured to see success. They quit out of fear.

 At the end of the day, when it comes to fear, you only have two choices:

Forget Everything and Run

OR

Face Everything and Rise

The choice is quite apparent. While the first one will be easy, it will leave you stranded in the muck and mire of mediocrity. Your dreams and goals will die from strangulation by fear. Choose the second option, and you'll grimly push past your fear.

When you come out on the other side, you'll be emotionally more assertive and mentally more demanding and be able to taste the fruits of success. Everything you want is on the other side of fear.

In this guide, we'll examine five of the most common fears that plague entrepreneurs and discuss how you can rise above them to achieve the life and business you were created for!

1.       Fear of the Unknown

This is probably one of the biggest fears that entrepreneurs face. When you're starting your own business, while you may have done your homework and prepared the best you can, there will ALWAYS be a certain degree of uncertainty. That's just the way it is. You must never forget that you can't discover new lands if you're afraid to lose sight of the shore.

You must push through and go with your heart, even if it's beating uncontrollably fast. Sometime in 1999, there was a movie called "3 Kings." In one scene in the film, a young soldier who was afraid approached Sergeant Major Archie Gates (George Clooney) with a question, and he replied, "The way this works is... you do the thing you're scared sh*tless of, and you get the courage after you do it. Not before you do it."

Although quite crass, this statement is accurate and applies across the board. If you're worried that you may not have the skills to create a successful business, go ahead and do it anyway. Then, learn as you go along. You must have the faith to take the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase. The best way to end your fear of the unknown is to have faith.

You must believe in yourself and what you're trying to achieve.

Countless people hope to start a business and make quick and easy money every day. Most of them fail and quit. The road to success is paved with the crushed dreams of the many who have tried and quit. They quit because they didn't believe in themselves, and they let fear take over. As John Stewart Mill said, "One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who only has an interest."

The next time you have doubts and fears, ask yourself why you're feeling them. Maybe you've been making a stable income with your "side hustle," but you're worried about quitting your day job because of its security. By asking yourself why you have this fear, you'll understand that what you fear is that you might have no money in case your new business dries up.

Now, you'll be able to make a plan of action to overcome this concern, such as saving up enough money to last six months in case of any unexpected setbacks. If you do not analyze your fears and all you do is let them control you and hold you back, your life will become stagnant, and in almost all cases, you will end up quitting. The only way to progress is to keep moving forward, no matter what setbacks you encounter.

2.       The Fear of Failure

This is another major fear that paralyzes so many entrepreneurs from acting on their goals and dreams. The fear of failure has stopped more people in their tracks than any other fear. Usually, this fear is disguised in many different ways. If you're worried that all your efforts will go to waste and that you will make no money, that's a fear of failure. Most people say they 'don't want to waste their time on something that won't work.'

The hard truth is that you'll never know unless you try. Building a business that will make you six figures a year may take three years to build. But guess what? If the fear of failure keeps you from trying in the first place, you will never know what could have been.

Three years will pass, and chances are your life will probably be the same. However, if you had moved forward with your goals, you might be in the six-figure income category. Many people fear failure because they are scared they will look foolish in front of their friends and family or are worried about criticism from their peers.

In all reality, what others think of you should be the least of your concerns. You may notice that your friends and family may even be your harshest critics when you try to better yourself and do things others don't do. The truth is that by making progress and achieving your goals, you may inadvertently shine a spotlight on your failures.

It makes them feel threatened, and the only way for them to feel better is to drag you down to their level so that the status quo can be maintained. This is a hard truth of life, and by realizing that what others think of you does not affect you in any way, this fear of looking foolish will disappear all on its own. Lao Tzu once said, "Care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner."

The best way to deal with the fear of failure is to ask yourself what could go wrong. Now, plan out what countermeasures you can take to prevent your endeavors from failing. Spend time visualizing yourself, pushing past obstacles, and succeeding. Repeat this visualization process daily and even a couple of times a day. This will give you faith and belief in yourself to keep going forward.

3.       The Fear That You Are Not Good Enough

This fear usually arises when you have experienced an arduous failure at a previous time in your life. Many people do not do well academically while in school because they have no natural affinity or interest in the subjects they are learning. The girl who was gifted at art and writing may have failed at math and science and couldn't go further than high school. This failure may make her feel like she can't succeed at anything even though she has all the potential to grow.

The very wise Albert Einstein once said, "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." The point of that statement is that one should not judge themselves based on their performance in school or previous jobs. There are countless stories of people who failed many times and finally succeeded beyond their wildest dreams once they found their true calling.

Never give up on yourself. Fortune favors the bold. Usually, when you're trying to build a business, there will be a learning curve that you'll have to go through. This is inevitable. You will make mistakes. You will hire the wrong person. You will purchase the wrong products. And you will waste time and money. This is just part of the process and can't be avoided. However, quitting at this stage because you feel you're not good enough will NEVER get better.

You only get better as you keep learning and progressing. Many beginners look at super-famous entrepreneurs and feel intimidated. They believe the other guys are more intelligent, prosperous, and better than them. Do not compare yourself with others. This is a huge mistake and will always leave you feeling discontented. You may be comparing your beginning with someone else's finish. It's unfair to you, and you'll be doing yourself a disservice. All you need to do is focus on being your best.

Here's the truth. Everybody started as a beginner. You do not become successful overnight. You must go through a journey; to go through it, you need to start somewhere. Fearing that you'll never amount to much will mean you have given up before you even started. You must have confidence. Chalk up every minor failure that you encounter along the way as a learning experience. You can't extrapolate from incomplete data. The more you learn, the better you'll get.

The more mistakes you make, the better. Failure is not the opposite of success. It is a part of success. You are good enough, just as you are. You need to believe it.

4.       The Fear That You're Late or Too Old

This is another big one. You may have heard things like, 'The good ol' days are over' or 'You're too old to start a business'… but are these statements even factual? Of course not. While some types of businesses may come and go, being an entrepreneur is here to stay, and every single day, there are people, just like you, who are succeeding. It's never too late to start; now is as good a time as any.

You're also never too old to set new goals or dream new dreams. Stan Lee created his first hit comic close to his 39th birthday. Henry Ford was 45 when he made the Model T car. Ray Croc started MacDonald's at 52, and Colonel Sanders was 62 when he franchised KFC. As you can see, people of all ages have succeeded in life. You're never too old. So cast this fear aside and pursue your dreams today.

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now." – Chinese proverb.

5.       Limiting Beliefs

The fifth and final fear is not a "fear" but an incorrect belief pattern. Many people have been held back from success because of their beliefs about what they are incapable of. This is because, while growing up, we formed our beliefs based on what we saw, heard, and were told.

One good example of this phenomenon is overweight people who feel that they're 'destined' to be fat. Their parents, siblings, relatives, and everyone close to them is overweight, so they buy into the story that they are naturally predisposed to obesity. While, to a certain extent, it could be true because of genetic factors, the truth is that food choices, eating habits, attitudes towards food, etc., are often passed down from parents to kids.

Because of this, all they ever knew about food and eating was what they saw and heard. If they decided to eat clean, exercise more, and watch their calories, they'd most likely lose the excess pounds and probably be the leanest person in their family. But getting to this stage requires overcoming their limited thinking and believing they can achieve this.

The same applies to people who grew up in low-income families where the parents expressed how money was hard to come by or that rich people were evil and greedy. With beliefs like these, their subconscious mind will not allow them to build wealth because they wouldn't want to be cruel and greedy, would they?

Overcoming your limited self-beliefs is a Herculean task, but it can be done. You must be alert to how you think and be proactive in correcting yourself. Once you realize that your only limit is you, your life will change, and you'll be able to conquer this obstacle. You are worthy of success.

By now, you'll realize that fear is false evidence appearing real. The best way to conquer fear is through action. Analyzing why you feel the way you do is helpful, but nothing beats action when dispelling fear. Do what you fear most, and the fear will vanish.

Never let your fear decide your future. Make a good plan, have contingencies, and work on your strategy until you succeed. Even during the darkest hours, when everything around you may feel like it's all about to collapse and all your fears tell you that you're about to fail, dig your heels in, and keep pushing forward.

It's always darkest before dawn. Keep going. You've got this!

Need help in overcoming your fears?  Feel free to schedule a free discovery call with Agnes at https://link.theelevatedintelligence.com/widget/bookings/generalcalendar-89e86508-ad75-45e2-83c1-277981242d6a/typeofappointment-5d02eddf-e9b2-4875-955b-67dc0df1ca94.