The Skeletons in my Closet…

I’m sure there’s some universal law at work when the same subject continues to come up at every corner of your world…. when we’re all sort of vibrating at the same frequency… when certain subjects just seem to reach out and grab us.

FEAR.  HESITATION.  PLAYING NOT TO LOSE. These are the topics that are resonating with you right now…. For those of you who are bold and committed and courageous, you’re right up front about this.  (And I love you for it, of course!) You know it’s okay to be afraid… as long as that fear doesn’t cause you to stall… to wait…. to miss out.

I love the dialogue created around this topic, and on the surface it’s pretty easy to talk about.  We’ve all felt it.  We’ve all been affected by it.  We all know what it feels like.  Easy, right? But, what about when we’re not talking about some distant fear that you’ve already overcome?

What if we’re not talking about FEAR in the sense of terrifying, gripping fear but that parasitic, low-grade fear?  The kind that creeps in and  robs us of our ability or momentum to act?  The kind that keeps us ankle chained to the status quo?  The kind that keeps us saying NO when everything inside of us wants to say YES?  The kind that keeps us luke warm and ambivalent instead of passionate and on fire?  What about talking about THAT kind of fear?  Gulp.   All of the sudden, it’s a different conversation.  And you know why?  Because we don’t call this kind of fear “fear”… we have all sorts of other names for it.

Timing. Timing’s a big one.  The timing’s off… SHUCKS… if only I had known about this a day earlier, I’d have definitely committed.   WOW!  If only this opportunity would wait on me, I’d definitely take advantage of it.  Man… this is great… but the timing’s all wrong for me…  Oh, Mr. Opportunity… please let me know the next time you’ll be staring me in the face….THEN, I’m sure it will be the right “timing” for me.

Funding.  Funding’s another.  We don’t have the money to do this.  If money weren’t an issue, I’d make that happen.  Right…

No way! No way’s a biggee too! There’s no way I could make that happen, so let’s just stop this conversation or line of thought before it gets started.

Scheduling. This one confuses me.  Especially for business owners who admittedly have no paying clients… yet can’t fit in time for a phone call. I don’t get it. What are you doing?  And, if there was an opportunity that would most CERTAINLY move your business (or marriage, or political campaign, whatever) forward – and in the right direction – you’d move appointments around to make it happen, right?  Right? Maybe not…

Anyway, I’ve been really simmering over this post a while…  because I see so many otherwise brilliant business owners cutting themselves far short profit-wise because of this low-grade fear and hesitation.  And, to be completely vulnerable, I’ve seen it in myself.  I’m ashamed to reveal the TRUTH about the products I’ve left uncreated… or created and never marketed… all in the name of waiting on this, that or the other.  The truth is, it was FEAR holding me back. Nothing else…. regardless of the excuses I made, justified, or convinced myself were true.

The unfiltered truth is that when I open the proverbial closet of my business, an embarrassing number of  skeletons fall out.  Skeletons of ideas that suffocated because of a lack of action, partnerships never pursued because of “wrong timing”, and books never written.  I’m happy to say that I’m adding to these skeletons less frequently, but this blog post is a great reminder… a shot in the arm for me as I write it.

Here’s a thought:   This immediate push back when something new is suggested or some opportunity presents itself is FEAR and it is robbing you.  Like a common thief, it’s stealing from you, your potential and your profit.

It’s like these missiles at the top of the page.  A new thought or opportunity creeps up and the TIMING missile is ready to shoot it down.  Bad timing. Wrong season.  Whatever.  New partner shows up ready to roll… and that FUNDING missile readies itself for firing.  No money for that. Of course not.  Someone suggests an opportunity to work on your business with you… and the NO WAY missile deploys without so much as a second glance in the direction of its target.  Another idea shot down.

Fear sucks in all its forms.  But, today… I’ve recommitted myself to defy it… to rebel against it… to keep my finger on the trigger of life… ready to shoot it down whenever it shows up.  I hope you’ll join me.