How to stay sane on the rollercoaster of business in a fucked up world
Are you scared?
I am
Every day seems to bring a new psychic weight to carry. North Korea. Jerusalem. Brexit. Endless poverty and disgust at billionaires giving tax breaks to fellow billionaires at the expense of the disabled, the young, the ‘everyday folks’. Me Too. Endless, endless streams of sexual harassers being brought out into the open. An accused paedophile within a whisper of becoming a US senator. A racist, unhinged narcissist hell-bent on stirring up trouble just so he can watch it all burn.
Fears on a grand scale that hit so very close to home.
Our loved ones getting sick.
Wondering if anyone will hire us – or if enough people will hire us. Or if we’ll be able to pay the bills or our partner will be laid off from work.
Fear that we’re not cut out for this entrepreneurial life.
Fear that it’s just too hard and we’re not equipped to handle it.
Fears that can derail a day. Or a week. Or a whole fucking year.
Fears that build like a drip, drip, drip of a broken tap into a bucket that eventually overflows.
Fears that rise up like cobras in our chests or descend like dementors.
Fears that wrap themselves around us like the lightest of perfume.
Fear is part of being a human with a brain and a heart and a soul.
Fear is natural. Normal. It is necessary. It is a great teacher.
And it’s terrible and draining and can rob you of your optimism if you let it.
Everyone has fear.
Holly Worton (who I do my monthly podcast episode with) recently confessed that when she first started coaching, she’d pray that clients wouldn’t show up for their calls because she was so scared of what to do if they did.
and me… I said
Another friend told me they had a snot filled, sobbing meltdown because she’d not signed a client in weeks and was wondering when it was going to turn around.
and me… I said (FYI snot filled, sobbing meltdowns are something of a speciality of mine).
A client told me how lonely she felt – her partner didn’t understand the challenges she faced and while she was supportive, she couldn’t help. She couldn’t really ‘get’ it.
and me… I said (if you’re not running your own business it’s really really hard to understand the pressure you can sometimes feel upon you that it’s all down you goddammit!)
When a client confesses to me that she’s scared to be seen and share what’s in her heart via her business for fear of being judged and criticized I tell her I have that too. So many of us do.
How to stay sane on the rollercoaster of business in a fucked up world
Here’s the truth:
When you’re running your own business it is all down to you. The successes and the failures.
You will be judged and found wanting by some once you become visible. But you’ll be judged and found wanting even if you’re not (it’s one of the shittier parts of being a human woman).
No one who hasn’t wrestled with a broken website or uncooperative MailChimp automation will understand your pain.
You will likely cry. Regularly.
And here’s what’s also true:
When you’re running your own business you get to shape it in whatever way suits you and fills your soul up. No one gets to tell you what to do. It’s all yours – and that can be glorious.
You don’t have to do it alone (in fact, please don’t)
Showing up and being seen- truly as yourself and with your eyes ablaze with passion and purpose will attract the very best people (clients, peers, superfans who just want to bask in your aura) and you get to change the world for the better just a little bit.
Crying cleanses the soul, releases tension and is an act of healing in itself.
Your fear is not a sign that you’re misaligned or ‘too sensitive’ or not cut out for this work.
Your fear is part of being a human.
How to stay sane on the rollercoaster of business in a fucked up world?