Taking my own Advice

For the past few years, I have been thinking about starting a coaching and consulting business but I continuously put it off, most often because I keep asking myself:

What if I fail?

What will others think?

Can I really do this?

Most recently when thinking about starting my business I got a text from a colleague who was preparing for an interview. She was nervous about her pre-work and was becoming increasingly unsure of herself. We texted back and forth for a few minutes and over time I heard her asking the same questions:

What if I fail?

What will others think?

Can I really do this?

I shared with her an article I had read several years back about a hermit crab. When I share this article with the people I coach, I always pull out the following quote, “Pursuit of growth makes you vulnerable. It is comfortable to stay where we are, do what we are doing.” Brene Brown calls those questioning voices “Gremlins”. They make you afraid to be vulnerable and feel bad about pursuing more, but they get power by not naming them.

8-weeks ago, I signed up for a course to launch my business, filed for my LLC and started to pursue another path for my future. I decided to take my own advice.

In the last 8-weeks, I have signed my first client, built a website, interviewed a dozen people about services that would be helpful in their lives all while working remotely as a primary school principal. More importantly, I have shown light on my gremlins and realized that they aren’t as scary as I thought.

What if I fail? I have failed many times in the last 8-weeks. I’m learning to fail fast, learn from that failure and try a new tactic.

What will others think? I’m not sure what everyone thinks, but I do know that I work hard to support the people I work with.

Can I really do this? Yes.