What is your favourite quote and how have you applied it?
This was one of the questions Neil Ball asked me during the interview on his podcast The Entrepreneur Way.
My answer?
“Feel the fear and do it anyway!”
Susan Jeffers
Running your own business is the biggest personal development journey you can ever go on. You get stretched in more ways than you’ve probably ever imagined.
And a big part of what makes you a successful entrepreneur, in the long run, is getting over yourself, conquering your fears and getting out of your comfort zone. Time and time again. All in the name of pursuing your ambitions and your dreams, whatever those may be.
Fear is there to protect you. To keep you safe.
After all, the human species has survived and evolved over thousands of years because of that tiny part in our brain called the amygdala.
Yet, in our modern world, the amygdala is causing us more damage than good.
Hand on heart, there have been times when I’ve succumbed to its powers and it’s held me back and delayed my entrepreneurial journey.
As a result, I’ve not been able to positively impact as many people as I would have liked by now.
Still, there are so many times when I’ve felt the fear and done it anyway, like:
✔️ Right now, by typing this blog, being raw and vulnerable, exposing myself to judgement and criticism and still sharing my entrepreneurial story with you.
✔️ Speaking on stage in front of over 100 people at Google Campus and selling from the stage for the first time.
✔️ Leaving a reasonably secure and financially stable company, in which I had a variety of job opportunities if I wanted them.
✔️ Jumping off a cliff 120m high and coming back and doing it again backwards, which was even more terrifying, as you can see by the expression on my face.
And you know what?
I honestly believe that doing activities like gorge swinging in my twenties and early thirties are now giving me the strength to get out of my comfort zone and do far less dangerous but equally, if not far more, terrifying activities like public speaking.
Learn more about manual excerpts(opens in a new tab)
Now, I’m NOT suggesting that you should go and jump off a cliff or do some other hazardous activity to build up your business mojo. Not at all. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.
But here is what I’ve noticed:
Far too many business owners who love what they do focus so exclusively on their business and never find time for themselves and whatever else is important in their lives.
In some more extreme cases, they even burn out to such a degree that they quit altogether or they consider quitting that business that they love so much!
Did you know that in the UK, more than a third of business owners completely lose motivation to continue running their business due to stress at least once a year? That’s according to a study by Haines Watts.
Is your health and wellbeing far too high a price to pay?
Could you, by not taking proper care of yourself, be effectively ‘jumping off that 120m high cliff’ but without the rope?
Having listened to my interview there are parts that make me uncomfortable about sharing it with the world. My inner critic is cringing at the ‘Ums and Ahs’. It’s telling me that I should have answered some questions more eloquently. It’s questioning if I can consider myself ‘successful’. (Just typing this is making my stomach churn.)
But I’ve got to get over myself, feel the fear and do it anyway by clicking on the ‘Publish’ button to share my message with you because helping you create a life you love and you’re proud of matters far more than avoiding the pain of my fears and insecurities.
Jumping off that cliff in Zambia, my morning routine, my evening routine, running The Big Half marathon, working on my mindset, going on holidays and spending time away from my coaching practice are all things that help me step up and progress in my business time and time again.
It’s what drives me to raise the bar to deliver even more for my clients and the people I serve because they deserve the best from me.
On that note, watch this space because I’m challenging myself to step up on another level! (If you want to be the first to know what’s coming up next – sign up here.)
Because here’s the truth:
Taking time out to work on yourself and to look after yourself gives you the strength and energy to be able to get out of your comfort zone more.
To get to that next level in your business.
To achieve more of what you want in your life as a whole.
In essence:
What you do outside of your business can help you achieve so much more in your business, not less.
Mira Rutter
Listen to the interview to discover my:
✔️ Top three recommended online resources and how they can help you achieve more in your business.
✔️ Favourite personal development book right now and how it can help you leverage your natural strengths and personality.
✔️ Best piece of advice to other entrepreneurs.
Yes, I want to listen to the podcast interview!
Once you’ve listened to the podcast, comment below and let me know what is your biggest takeaway and what will you do differently going forward?
I’d so much appreciate it if you can help me spread my message by commenting on the interview and/or by sharing it a fellow business owner who would find it helpful. You can do so by forwarding this blog, sharing the podcast on your social media or in a private message.
THANK YOU!
