154 | 5 Lessons For All Online Entrepreneurs

The FITSPRO Podcast

I’ve said before on many podcast episodes, that entrepreneurship is one of the most self refining journeys you can go on. Thus it’s full of opportunities to learn, and that means lots of lessons along the way. I don’t claim to know at all. Half the time I don’t even feel like I’m a real entrepreneur. But I figure if I’ve learned anything over the last 5 to 7 years, it might be of use to you. So it’s worth sharing. Some of these are going to sound very cliché. But they are true nonetheless. Let’s go ahead and just dive right in. 5 Lessons for an Online Entrepreneurs Fear of failure and success I have been afraid of success and failure many times in my life throughout different seasons. It wasn’t until I became an entrepreneur that I was truly forced to face both of things. I know you’ve heard people say that the faster you can accept failure as a part of the process, the more progress you will make. People say that because it’s true. Successful people say that because it’s true. There is always going to be something to be afraid of if you are growing. Comfort zones are often bordered by fear. Which makes sense, because fear and comfort normally don’t go together. Fact is, your biggest fears are probably not that realistic, and not that big when you truly think about how you would face that fear, or come back from that situation. That’s one of my favorite lessons from the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. So I will ask you what you are ultimately afraid of, and to look at the opposite. What if it does work out? What if worst-case scenario doesn’t happen? Is it worth it then? Again, there is always going to be something to be afraid of. And you won’t necessarily get less afraid of certain things, but you will learn to trust yourself and your abilities the more that you take what you consider to be scary steps. So whatever that is for you right now in your state of entrepreneurship, I just really encourage you to push forward with the fear and see what happens. It can be something as small as talking face to camera in your Instagram stories, or starting a podcast, or reaching out to network with someone. Fear will continue to be a barrier if you let it, in any situation. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it does tend to be a matter of fact. Blinders on Beyond fear of failure and fear of success, entrepreneurship will also rear the ugly head of comparison. Especially, I believe, in the online space. It’s so easy to think that everyone else is running seamless businesses with full client rosters, and doing it with ease. But I promise you that is not the case. And even if it was the truth, you comparing your journey to theirs is not going to serve you. I am 100% for looking to people that you aspire to be like. People who maybe you want to emulate the way that they run their business. Or people who align with your philosophy. I absolutely love all of that. And I didn’t figure out what I really wanted to do with my business for 2 1/2 years because I didn’t see that what I wanted to do was even an option. That’s in large part why I am very much so for people looking at and taking in information from people they look up to in one way shape or form. But that is, of course, different than comparison. Comparison is going to happen. It’s silly to think that it’s not. One way that we can minimize it is to attempt to keep our blinders on. More often than not we tend to let our gaze veer right and left when we lack clarity and focus in what it is that we are doing within our own businesses. Or I certainly know that that is the truth for me. When I am most focused on my work, my clients, and growing my own business, I am the least distracted or interested in what anyone else is doing. In fact, for that reason I know that myself and other colleagues have muted friends and colleagues on social media because it’s just not helpful in all seasons to be seeing what other people are doing.