This episode is part of the Smart Mindsets & Habits series.
Today I’m talking about courage – something all successful coaches had to raise within themselves long before they felt confident about anything.
This episode is for you if you are feeling afraid of crossing any threshold large or small to launch your business and build it into something solid to support your family.
If you’ve been looking for confidence in a crucial moment and feeling none here’s the truth …
It is courage not confidence that will help you break through. Courage is the fire within you. Confidence is earned through repetitive acts of courage.
Before we get into that, I want to share something deeply personal …
Courage has been asking me to step up lately.
I’ve lived a life boosted by centuries of privilege. My parents were middle class and worked hard. My dad was educated by the GI bill and got a good job. Their parents scraped by through the Great Depression in the South – Arkansas and Kentucky.
But they were propped up by privilege, as were their parents before them going far back in the family tree.
Until now, I haven’t questioned why the neighborhoods and schools I grew up in or why the companies I worked for in Colorado were homogenously white. I did not get it that those neighborhoods and schools weren’t available to people of color by design.
Now, with the murder of George Floyd echoing centuries of similar murders in my country and others, I am finally realizing my own complicity in these crimes against humanity.
By failing to see the roots of my privilege clearly I also failed to perceive the policies and systems that built and sustain that privilege for only some.
I am an empath and a highly compassionate person who has always cared about fairness. But I have been asleep, accepting the ways of the world. I have accepted injustices that — were I truly courageous — I would not have simply lived with.
So I’m making a pledge today to you that I will do more day to day to fight against injustice and systems that exclude black, indigenous and people of color from the privileges that I have taken for granted. I will use my ears to listen and learn. I will use my voice, my vote and other resources to work towards deep systemic change while also working on myself to be a better human being.
Thank you for listening.
Now let’s talk about courage that will launch and sustain your business …
Intelligent Coaches Are Stopped By Fear
The coaches I have the honor to work with are some of the most intelligent people I’ve ever known. Many of them are far more educated and have more impressive careers than I ever have. Most of them are brimming with passion that awes me every day.
And all of them are afraid to take steps to launch their business and keep getting out there.
Fear is a human condition and in the territory of entrepreneurship, it’s a raw emotion experienced often.
Not only have I been there in the early days of my own coaching business but fear still makes me hesitate, procrastinate and waste time. I get past it more quickly than I used to but the feeling that freezes me in my tracks still comes up.
I’ve seen it in colleagues and clients. Sometimes a person will do everything but cross those final thresholds to launch.
It’s one of the reasons why the statistics of entrepreneurial business survival are so dismal.
I see coaches create beautiful websites, put all the work into the backend of their business but then shut down unable to do the big scary – stay active out there.
Or I see coaches post regularly on social media and build somewhat of a following but never take a step beyond the safety of that virtual space.
I see coaches discount their services so much that they’ll never pay themselves back for their coach training much less earn a good living.
I’ve done all of those and more to keep myself from experiencing rejection.
Don’t let your fear deny you success in every quarter. That’s regret in the making.
Yes, there’s feel the fear and do it anyway. But there’s a moment in between feeling and doing that will help you to take action. It’s BEING.
That’s the time to raise courage.
Courage makes everything possible.
In all the stories of heroism they all start with deeply flawed, vulnerable human beings who have a big goal. The person faces down monumental set backs but keeps going. Not because of confidence but because of courage.
Here’s what will help you raise courage:
6 Ways to Boost Your Day-to-Day Courage and Gain Confidence
- Choose a symbol of your powerful will and keep it close to you.
This could be something like a talisman for your pocket, an image on your vision board or a role model for courage. I have a smooth stone that I hold at times of fear and a Quan Yin (Goddess of Compassion) statue on my desk.
- Reconnect daily with your purpose and mission.
Always remember what brought you to this moment. Hold your vision of your future and see it as a reality.
- Take the spotlight off of yourself and put it on the people you serve.
For most of us a spotlight puts us into stage fright. You’re not on stage as a coach. You are not performing. Imagine the individuals your coaching will support.
- Ask someone to help you be brave.
I keep learning this. Never do anything difficult without someone who can have your back. This could be a mentor, a friend or peer coach but don’t go it alone.
- Reframe to the positive.
Mistakes are critical for your success. Some rejection is inevitable. Embrace those things as teachers. Reframe to the positive and you’ll feel more courage.
- Celebrate every time that you raise enough courage to act.
Be your own cheerleader. It’s the positive reinforcement that makes you stronger and more capable.
The more courageous actions you take to launch and grow your coaching business the stronger and more confident you’ll become. And yes, confidence feels good. What will you do today to raise courage and cross a threshold in your coaching business today?
