Tell me, did you ever meditate on the following question:
Why is it so difficult to launch my own freedom business?
This is a question I used to ask myself a lot, when I was going through frustrating times. It often ended up with me complaining about bad luck, or that annoying guy who already had the same idea as me.
Well, it’s no surprise I was complaining: I’m French after all (and French people complain a lot ;-) ).
But even outside of my Cheese Motherland, there are hundreds of thousands of brilliant minds all around the world who keep dreaming about launching their own venture, but face the challenges of:
- Not having enough time to dedicate to their project,
- Not having enough money to develop their product or website,
- And often … not having an idea.
I believe they’re asking themselves the wrong question.
Instead of “why is it so difficult”, they should be asking themselves:
Why do I make it so difficult for myself to launch my own freedom business?
At the end of the day, the three blockers I listed above are just our own internal fluff and drama, stuff we complain about to avoid dealing with the tough questions.
Take lack of time for instance: if you don’t over-think it, you can create a simple website for your business in maybe 1 hour on SquareSpace. Similarly, it is also fairly easy to find a few hours a week to create and launch a business, when you really want it.
Money? There are dozens of websites where you can crowdfund your product development. And if you have an urgent need you can start earning money as a freelancer today by creating a profile on Upwork or about any other relevant marketplace.
And if you don’t have an idea, you can just copy one you like today, including PaidtoExist.com. Seriously, unique ideas are rare and most businesses are just copies of existing ones. So as long as you don’t steal, or act unfairly or illegally, you can definitely copy an idea today and make it your own.
Objectively, if you constantly think positive solutions rather than problems, it is fairly easy to launch your own freedom venture.
But things are not that easy in the real life: we are all beautiful and imperfect humans, and we don’t always do what’s best for us.
Why is that? Are we scared of something?
I believe so …
You see, I believe that behind every unaccomplished entrepreneur, there is …
A subconscious fear of success holding them back
It sounds weird right? After all, who doesn’t want to be successful?
But it’s one thing to only dream about it, and another to actually start actively trying to make a dream of success come true. And the closer we get to it, the bigger chance that our subconscious will attempt to sabotage our efforts.
Why? Because we want change but we also fear it. We fear of selling out, of becoming someone different and this affecting our relationship with people close to us. We are scared of failure, bigger responsibly and even bigger expectations, of having to get out of our boring, yet safe bubble, into the scary unknown.
Does any of that resonate with you? Take a minute or two in your busy day to reflect on that, and let me know what you think in the comments.
They Have NO FEAR …
Think for a second about the successful entrepreneurs we all know: Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Warren Buffet, etc.
When I think about these guys, I see NO FEAR. If these guys lost their business overnight and had to start everything from the scratch again, it wouldn’t even bother them.
On the other hand, unsuccessful entrepreneurs are caught in Catch 22 situation – they say they want success but they are also secretly (sometimes so secretly they even don’t realize it themselves) terrified by it.
I’m not immune to it. This fear really messed up with my life as well. It made me run away from golden opportunities, and throw away months’ worth of work … just like that! Without any apparently valid reason.
And you know what? Fear of success is still around to a certain extent. It’s just one of these annoying mind chatters I can hear all the time.
It actually started to bite me again on Monday afternoon, so I decided to share these thoughts with you:
If your results as an entrepreneur haven’t been as you wish they could have been, try to reflect on this experience through the “fear of success” prism. You might start seeing things differently.
And keep in mind that, apart from the rock star entrepreneurs I mentioned above, most of us are scared of success one way or another. It’s fine, as long as you learn how to manage it and it doesn’t hold you back.
Let me know what you think in the comments (I know some of you will disagree :) ).
In the next post, I’ll reveal my antidote for fear of success.
As often with powerful things, it’s simple … and it can help you move mountains.
No.
I’ve heard this song so many times. Cases that are described as “fear of success” are actually “fear of failure”. People don’t start because of fear they’ll fail.
Hi Helen! Maybe they’re just two sides of the same coin. I did pick the most controversial one though :)
I think the fear of failure goes hand in hand with the fear of success.
Even putting aside the worry that you’ll achieve something and then lose it all, success itself can still bring some anxiety. You can be afraid of all of the things that come with success–increased responsibility, less time for other things you enjoy because you’re working, an opportunity taking you out of your comfort zone–without necessarily being afraid to fail.
Every case is unique, so I think many people will find that both fears apply. :)
I think the fear of success is a very real thing because it’s essentially a fear of change, but with greater responsibility. Humans fear the loss of something once they have it far more than the fear of missing out (on say, having the life they really want). Because once they start achieving a little success, they know they’ll have something else to be scared of losing.
Us humans are slaves to our lizard brains. We sabotage ourselves all the time. That’s why I think simple – even ‘dumb’ – people tend to do better at entrepreneurship than intellectuals. They’re so busy doing stuff, they don’t bother overthinking things. And as they succeed, they just take it in their stride. Over the years, I’ve learned that doing beats thinking every bloody time. You can always course-correct.
‘Doing things beats thinking every blood time’ – spot on Peter! And yes, how many times do we see people we think are a bit ‘dumb’ but still doing great as entrepreneurs? They just DO stuff. Overthinking is a killer – it brings nothing but fear and doubt and makes us fail before we even start.
I really needed to hear this message today, Cedric. Thank you.
Thanks Daniel :)
Fear of success – fear of failure – either way we’re stopping short because of an illusion – a story we repeatedly tell ourselves or is lodged in our subconscious and we aren’t even aware of it.
I actually just spent time last night letting go of some limiting beliefs I’ve been carrying around for the last year about my business. Was an amazing experience. I woke up excited and ready to take on the day and even though some of this programming has come up – I can see it for what it is now.
Later today I’ll be letting some false beliefs I hold around meeting new people go (networking).
On that note – love what you’re doing here and would love to collaborate in some way!
Keep up the good work!
Hey Jackson, thanks! I agree this is often subconscious stuff: we can feel something’s wrong but most of the time we can’t really figure out what’s going on. That generally changes when we a moment to take a step back and think about ourselves (just like you did yesterday), or when something important happens in our lives. Cheers
I am ok with the idea of 1 service or product.
Although if I have more or add more to the same website these products
may have nothing to do with the others . / whats your opinion for
a person whi is going to start within the few months ? Thanks.
Fear of failure is what prevents people to start their businesses, if you could ask every one on this planet, which fear is stopping them from starting their freedom business(fear of failure or fear of success)
Almost all of them they will say they are scared of failing.
They always looking at the negative side of the situation, rather than the positive side.
The 3 points that you’ve mentioned above are absolutely right.
> Not having money, time, and not having an idea to act on, yes those are just excuses for people who do not want it bad enough.
Good post! I have had my fears to through all the years I have worked as a freelancer. But over time I have learned to never give-a-shit and just keep hustling. Sure, I bet there must be some party-pooper thoughts still, lurking in the deep background, coming from my childhood. ?
But another thing I see as I keep mentoring and coaching people into solid characters and self-made salaries is that THEY DON’T EVEN BELIEVE IT WILL WORK!
I have had moments of coaching conversations where I literally pour out a complete business idea. They get fired up, but after a few hours, some are like… meeeeh. Probably won’t happen.
Damn.