The key difference I’ve seen between 9-5ers and business owners has to do with a willingness to fail. Those of us who have spent a long time in school, like I did, have received training to never fail if we want to do well. This carries on into the corporate world. Failing can cost us our job, security, and salary. But there’s a different set of rules in business. Failure is a prerequisite to success in building a profitable business from our passion. So what to do when years of training to never fail, creates a fear of failure when we set out to create this business? Here’s how I overcame that fear of failure to create a profitable coaching business.
I decided to create a profitable business from my passion!
I was determined, excited, and ready to make it happen!
But as I sat there at my desk with my hand hovering over the “Post” button on Instagram, I couldn’t find the strength to click it.
Andddd click!
Nope.
That’s pretty much how most of my early posting went.
It was exhausting & frustrating.
I knew I wanted to do it. That it was my purpose to help other women ditch the 9-5 life. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t go after my dream.
So what was keeping me from posting? From building my dream business & life?
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What keeps us from moving forward even when really want to?
It was something that was drilled into us from an early age.
Think back.
What’s the worst thing you can do in school?
Fail.
What’s the worst thing you can do in sports?
Strike out.
And the better students we are, the more A’s we get, the more the system rewards and reinforces this behavior of never failing.
This is the same reason I believe that women who weren’t straight-A students, like I was, actually have an advantage when it comes to creating a business.
It’s because that “never fail” mentality was never rewarded and therefore that behavior was not reinforced.
How that fear of failure is created:
Remember Pavlov’s dog?
Yes, just like that.
Don’t fail = reward = behavior repeated
I was also super drilled into this during medical school. Failing can have disastrous results as a doctor, so we made sure to NEVER fail.
This carries from school into our 9-5 life.
How fear of failure works well in the 9-5 world
We don’t want to fail at work. We want to complete our work really well.
Because failing can cost us our job, our security, our paycheck.
But the problem happens when we no longer want to live the 9-5 life.
Rather, when we CAN’T live the 9-5 life anymore.
That’s what happened to me.
I knew I couldn’t stay in a career that was no longer fulfilling to me. That was making me miserable.
Especially, when I knew I wanted more.
Fear of failure is standing in the way of creating a profitable business from our passion
But the problem is: Compared to school or corporate, failing is a prerequisite to success in business.
And based on my experience of failing to post, I knew that I would have to overcome my fear of failure if I were to stand any chance of making a profit from my passion – coaching.
So here’s how overcame my fear of failure:
- I recognized where it was coming from & spent time disentangling the shame & guilt associated with failing.
- I empowered myself to seek moments of failure & reward myself for progress, not results.
- I let go of the limiting beliefs that failing meant something negative about me & that others would think negatively about me.
- I made sure my strategy was tailored to my ideal client, my personality, & the type of business I wanted to create. So that I can show up with consistency & excitement to attract clients who are excited to work with me.
Creating this shift change my life
Today things look a little different.
The thought of failing rarely comes into my mind because I’m too busy doing what I love – helping women make a profitable business from their passion so they too can leave their 9-5.
While travelling the world. 😉
And when I do think of failure, it gives me a little thrill of excitement because I know every failure is growth bringing me closer to my next goal, and the next one, and the next!
