Dear aspiring businesswoman, who has a big, scary, compelling, idea in your heart… but you’re not sure how to start or what it looks like to reach your end goal:

Fear feels like a person, right?

Sometimes it’s in the driver’s seat of our car, in total control.

Sometimes it’s giving us outdated directions, or changing the radio station and the voices we hear.

I’ve given a lot of power in my life to fear, and it’s shown up with many different faces and voices over the years.

It’s been that quiet fear that knocks on my chest, whispering things like “but… what if THIS happens? Remember… last time?”

I’ve also experienced it more than enough times as an overwhelming fear that paralyzes me in my place.

But here’s the deal: fear isn’t necessarily bad.

Fear of falling off a cliff keeps me safe and away from the edge, right?

Fear can be a quick poke from the hand of wisdom that says, “Hey, just lookin’ out for you.”

But I have to admit that an overcorrection from fear, worry turning into anxiety, or letting how the past played out influence how I see the present— turn what could be a great thing for me into what feels like sticking my hand in front of a snake.

It has held me back from taking steps I KNOW I want or need to take. Making me stay still.

I’m sure I’ll feel that familiar fear in my chest for different areas of my life. That’s just the reality and gift of being a human being.

And the truth is, I’m getting comfortable with fear, but only since I’ve learned how to control it.

Fear can sit right next to me, but it will not grab hold of the wheel again. Fear doesn’t have to be in control. It shouldn’t be your main guiding light. It’s not your compass. It doesn’t need to be a massive burden that keeps us from doing what we want to do. Life’s way too short for that.

Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of not knowing the next steps, fear of messing up along the way, fear of being seen while we’re messing up.

What would a businesswoman do if she went for her biggest dreams and then…failed?

It didn’t work!

Whether it’s by our own hand or not, wanting something BIG and MEANINGFUL to us, and potentially not getting to have it or losing it once we do… might make us be afraid to want it at all.

On the other hand, what if we went for our big hopes and dreams… and they came true?

I’ve actually polled hundreds of businesswomen and found that we tend to be just as afraid of success as we are of failure.

Fear is that fork in the road that stops so many of us from following our dreams because we’re afraid to choose a path.

Fear is that step over the line that so many of us are scared to cross because the other side is uncertain, unknown, and uncharted.

If you’re an aspiring businesswoman, in the middle of waiting and hoping for a sign before jumping into your dream business, this is what I hope you know:

You crashed into this world from a cozy spot somewhere within your mother.

The first action we all took on this earth was leaving a comfortable, protected nest to face the world head-on.

How wild, beautiful, weird, unbelievable, and totally normal is that?

It’s brave, whether you remember those first moments or not.

Then you grew up. Little by little.

You faced really wonderful moments, and some hard ones too.

Some days were fantastic and you felt on top of the world.

Other days were terrible and you wondered how you were going to make it.

You’ve been brave every step of the way.

That’s why you’re still here.

You’re brave when you stick to your values and follow your heart, even if it doesn’t always feel like the popular thing to do.

Pursuing your passions and exploring your curiosities is actually the one thing you can do to live a fulfilling life.

A businesswoman doesn’t need all the answers and she’ll never have all the answers.

You need to start testing, trying, experimenting, playing with, and finding new ways to pursue those ideas in your heart.

Life is about being a student and a practitioner at the same time.

We aren’t meant to stand still and let life just happen to us.

We’re meant to learn from it as we live it.

As humans, we’re always learning, stretching, pushing, and evolving.

Being human isn’t hard because you’re doing it wrong. It’s hard because you’re doing it right.

Life wasn’t meant to be easy.

Express yourself and find joy and lessons each day.

Start your dream business or project and learn lessons from it.