It was 3 a.m. and my mind was racing. I couldn’t sleep. My worst fear was becoming my reality. I am a failure.
I was pretty sure that by sunrise I was going to call my old boss and beg for my old job back. I didn’t want that job. I didn’t love that job. But it paid the bills. Who was I kidding anyway? I am not an entrepreneur.
I knew this could happen. Smart people who cared about me provided ample warning. “Bad timing.” “Crowded space.” “Changing industry.” “What makes you think you can actually do that for a living?” Now I was getting exposed. I am fraud.
After all, I was the guy listening to the book “Feel the Fear . . . and Do It Anyway”every time I got into my car for two years. I was stuck and the fear of change (or actually, the fear of failure) was holding me back.
I’d finally found the courage to make my move and start a business. Now, just a year into it, I felt even more uncertain about my decision.
Here’s the truth. I wasn’t a failure or a fraud. That was just a story I invented in the middle of the night to fuel my fear. That is a dangerous place to spend time because it’s usually where bad decisions happen. What I didn’t understand in that moment was something I have to come to believe through my own experience:
Failure is the path to achievement.
My entrepreneurial journey was just beginning. The epic failure would have been quitting during that essential learning curve. Through my experience, I’ve learned a few techniques to more effectively confront my fear and use it to my benefit. I’ve also evolved my definition of failure. I shed a little more light on my experience with fear and failure in this video:
VIDEO: Managing Fear on YouTube
Most of the time the real failure is not trying. It might not get easier, but you can always get better.
