Fears and worries are part of any new endeavor. They certainly are for an Encore Career!
These fears come from a variety of places. Maybe you’re worried because there is no guarantee of success as an entrepreneur or perhaps you doubt that you have anything meaningful to share with the world.
I’ve reflected on some of my own fears and worries recently (yes, they never go away!) and asked others what some of their fears and worries are. On Creating Your Encore Career, I went through 10 common responses.
Let’s overview some of them now.
“No One Cares What I Have to Say”
Ever said that?
This fear is inherent if you're an entrepreneur who’s launching into a new arena and leaving your corporate career. You have to learn to own your skills. Then, you have to go out and find a new group of people to talk to.
You have to find people who need your skills. This will take time and you’ll have to work at it for a while. You need to not only get really good at what you do but also figure out who needs it.
This is an actionable way to overcome the fear that no one cares what you have to say.
Imposter Syndrome
When you start thinking, “I haven’t done anything noteworthy” and, “I don’t have anything to offer,” you’re falling into imposter syndrome.
You need to remind yourself that you have done things that are noteworthy, you've solved problems, and you've already made an impact on people. You just need to find out where you did that and remind yourself of that constantly.
The world doesn’t just need Nobel Prize winners and sports stars. They need you. They need your voice and your particular expertise.
The idea that you haven't done anything noteworthy is just a self limitation. Always remember: you have done noteworthy things, you've helped people, and you've made things happen.
Time and Money Fears
Fears about time and money are legitimate fears. In your corporate job, you had a salary, you had bonuses, and you knew where your money was coming from. Now, all of a sudden, you're on your own.
So, yes, you do have to figure out how you’ll get paid. This doesn’t have to be scary, though. Don’t blow it up and make it a huge thing. Just drill down to practicalities: how exactly wil you make money and how much money can you make?
As far as a lack of time, remember that learning is different these days. You don’t have to try to learn everything.
Hire someone to help you with skills that are outside of your zone of genius and, for skills and technologies you do want to learn, explore alternate ways of learning them like YouTube.
