An Entrepreneur’s Greatest Fear

I get a lot of messages from hungry entrepreneurs. People who pull all-nighters to make their dreams come true. Who push their businesses after getting off their nine-to-five day jobs. Who forsake the nine-to-five to do something that gives them purpose.

Sometimes, a trend shows up in these messages. Recently, it came through loud and clear. Over and over, upcoming entrepreneurs said the same thing: It’s scary to start a business. It’s hard to keep my business going. It’s difficult to start making a profit.

And I get it. It IS scary. Being an entrepreneur is frightening. You’ve got to take risks. Have more faith in your product or service than anyone else. Continually look for ways to improve your product or service and get it in the right hands.

For the weak-minded, the fear of entrepreneurship is overwhelming. It causes them to close up shop. Then they bury their dreams and go back to clocking in for someone else.

But listen up! If you hear failure screaming your name every day; if you feel the pressure of paying rent is too much burden for your business to shoulder; if you want to give up and let your pessimistic friends win, STOP! Because the thing you fear right now is NOTHING compared to the fear you’ll face down the road.

You Should Fear Regret

Know what’s scarier than failure? Regret. You just don’t know it.

The problem is that you can’t feel the full weight of regret in the moment. So you take the easy way out. You walk away. Trade your big dream for a mediocre paycheck. It hurts at first, but your closest circle takes off the edge.

They insist you did the right thing. The smart thing. The responsible thing.

Eventually, you agree. Or at least you do in your head. In your heart, you know something’s wrong. When you go out and make money for someone else, you feel like a round peg in a square hole. It just doesn’t fit. But you bite your lip and put in 30 years.

After that, life goes on. Only now, you’ve got time. More time than ever before. Time to think about the steps and missteps you took in life. Time to wonder if you should have taken the harder road and kept the business going.

But it’s too late. You’re in your 70s and 80s. They’re your golden years, but you’re living in regret. So they feel like fool’s gold.

You can’t relax and enjoy your grandkids. You don’t feel satisfied after a day of volunteering. You’re not content to milk your 401k until you clock out of life.

So you sit and wonder. Wonder about what could have happened. Whether that dream could have come true. Whether you actually put your life on hold to live someone else’s. Whether you traded your hopes and dreams for someone else’s.

Fight Future Fear Now

Throughout my childhood and early years as an entrepreneur, I had fears. Still do. But they don’t stop me any longer. They fuel me.

One of my main fears is that someone is going to outwork me. Push me off the hill. Overtake my company and leave me in the dust. And that’s not my only fear.

I also fear regret. That one day, I’ll look back and see a massive list of opportunities I didn’t take. Opportunities that could have enriched my life. Made me a better entrepreneur. A better husband. A better father. Opportunities I ignored that could have improved life for other people.

Like all fears, this one can paralyze you. However, it doesn’t have to. Handle it right and it can sharpen your vision. The threat of regret can help you see opportunities you come across. This is a blessing!

But don’t just SEE the opportunity. TAKE ADVANTAGE of it. And when that little bitch inside tells you to run and hide, fight back. Because you’re not fighting for temporary happiness. You’re fighting for your life. Your legacy. Your ability to enjoy the fruits of your labor today and in thirty years.

I Am Not Unique

I know it’s hard to hear this. Especially someone who has “made it.” Someone with business success and the all-American life. But trust me. I’m not a superhero. I am YOU.

I’ve got OCD and ADD. I made bad grades in school — so bad I barely graduated high school. I’m an immigrant, so English is my second language. I grew up so poor that I used to dumpster dive for food. When I got lice, my family couldn’t afford lice shampoo. I used gasoline instead. (Learn more by downloading a free copy of Man Up.)

Not exactly a recipe for success.

So why do I tell you this? It’s not for pity points or to impress you with my story. It’s not to position immigrants as uniquely qualified for success. It’s to quiet the fears running through your head. To let you know everything is going to be okay. To remind you that you launched your business with a goal. A goal you’ve not achieved.

You have a great idea. You have a product or service that solves a problem. Your business makes people’s lives better. So you owe it to yourself and the world to keep moving forward. To face the fears you’re facing today so you don’t live with regret later.

I made it. You can too. But you’ve got to believe in yourself. You’ve got to see yourself like I do. That you have value, and you have value to share with others.

So admit it: Running a business is not for the weak. Admit, THIS SHIT’S SCARY! Then face your fears. Push past the haters. Kick down the closed doors.

Most importantly, don’t quit! Your future self will be pissed.

So roll up your sleeves and get to work. Stop thinking that you’re wasting your time. If what you’re doing isn’t working, tweak it. Over and over. Perfect your business until it becomes an empire. Master selling. Improve your business and improve yourself in the process.

It won’t make things less scary. But it will make you unafraid. And once you stop being afraid, you’re ready to dominate business and life.