When we are young, anything is possible.
Our carefree minds are momentarily unobstructed from the realities of a world that could break us.
I believe humans are designed this way so that we can evolve as superior beings and progress our physical mark on this earth.
As young adults, the weight of the world has yet to crack our spirit and we bound freely into a plethora of possibilities. Literally, the world is at our feet during these virginal years.
As an early twenty-something starting my first business, the concept of failure hadn’t really entered my mind. I was far too excited to see what we could make of it and how our lives were going to change for the better once we started to make some real money.
Yes, I did it for the money.
Real estate is a tough gig, as those in the industry will tell you. It might look shiny and fancy on the outside, but the inner workings of a career in real estate are mentally, physically and spiritually challenging. We are not in the business of selling houses. We are in the business of people management.
People - with all their emotions, personalities, flaws. One must have a high EQ to deal with the rollercoaster ride that transacting in property brings about.
But regardless of whether it is a career in real estate you are pursuing, or something else, the building blocks of any business are nothing short of challenging.
And if your path is that of a solopreneur, then the game ramps up a notch.
You are doing this alone.
The weight of the business rests on you.
The late nights.
The money worries.
The mental chatter.
The inner critic.
All of it is manifesting a fear response.
I attribute a large part of the success of my first independent agency to my ability (or naivety) to manage fear.
Our success story was not only rooted in our commitment, dedication, and hard work, but also in our ability to take risks, and bet on ourselves. The fear of what could happen after we wholeheartedly invested every part of us sat relatively dormant.
Things were very different for me the next time around.
As a 33 year old who had been a full-time student of the school of hard knocks for the past ten years, I now had the emotional scars to carry. The weight of the world leaned heavily upon my decision to go out on my own again. This time, there was no partner in crime. It was just me.
Unlike the unscathed 23 year old with bright hopes and aspirations, the beaten up, post-depressive me had a whole new set of emotions to work through.
And so I did.
I worked through them all to realise that what was holding me back was a manifestation of all of my past experiences and their emotional wounds that had become ingrained. My inner desire to win the game solo was evident, but it was fear that was unconsciously forcing me to hesitate.
Fear of starting over.
Fear of it being a success, only to have it ripped away, again.
Fear of being humiliated when that happened.
To sit comfortably in this fear took a great deal of spiritual energy, but it was this kind of practice that helped me immensely. I am not a religious person, but as part of my healing journey following my rock-bottom era, I learned to embrace spirit for the first time.
I leaned into faith.
I felt the fear in my body and my soul.
And with faith in my heart, I took action anyway, knowing that the universe would sort it all out one way or another. And what would be, was meant to be. I trusted it.
As much as my pre-programming was grappling with the fear, my newfound faith helped reignite the ambitious person I had always been, and propelled me forward to take the steps that I already knew how to take.
If fear is holding you back, know this.
I started again at 33 and it all worked out.
Others have started much later, and it all worked out.
Taking your Leap of Faith is, coincidentally, just that - leaning into that operative word - faith.
Here are the steps I took to overcome the fear of starting over in business for myself.
I wrote down everything I was afraid of.
Deep dive into this. Spend the time to really get your thoughts and fears out of your head and onto paper. I find that when you visualise them, they lose power.
I mapped-out the absolute worst case scenario for me.
Kind of like a Plan B if things didn’t work out the way I’d hoped. This gave me an added boost of confidence to press Go on Plan A because I knew the fallback wouldn’t be so bad after all.
I made a commitment to myself.
I promised myself that I would do everything in my physical power to do the work, take the necessary steps and dedicate myself to this new venture. I knew that if I was to do this again (but this time on my own), I needed to know within myself that I had left no stone unturned in making it a success.
I sought support through networking groups.
I knew I couldn’t afford not to commit to this kind of support. Thankfully my ego allowed me to admit that I didn’t know everything. I knew I needed to commit to ongoing education and surround myself with like-minded people who were on a similar journey. Looking back, this was one of the best decisions I made because it opened doors, expanded my mindset, forged (now soul-mate like friendships), and gave me a fresh perspective. I also met my now husband, Ben through one of these groups.
I trusted in the process and let faith take the lead.
Admittedly, this was hard for me. I like to think that I am a person of depth, but I’m certainly not religious. Truth is, if I didn’t allow myself to surrender to a higher power, my anxiety probably would have gotten the better of me, and who knows, all of this may never have happened. Trust that if you are even considering this path, it is for a reason. Intuitively, at a gut level, you will just know. Go with it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendy Russell writes about Property, Career and Success. She is a self-made woman and Independent Buyer’s Advocate based in Brisbane Australia, representing busy professionals in luxury home purchases.
