Today we’re talking about fear and how it can stop us from making progress on our goals.
Because let’s face it, when we’re experiencing fear of failure, success or what others might think, it can stop us dead in our tracks even when we have the best intentions.
*Note: This is Part 3 of a 4-part Mindset series. Over the course of these 4 weeks I’m bringing you episodes related to your mindset as an entrepreneur, running your amazing yoga business.
Check out the previous episodes here:
So today we’re digging into this topic of fear and guess what else showed up in this episode as I talked through it? … Money!
As you can imagine, money is weaved into the topic of fear as it shows up often when we are fearful of something. So today we’re really talking about fear and money. Oh, it’s a good one friend!
Let’s jump in and talk about fear and money!
**This was also a podcast episode (episode #151. Use the player below if you'd prefer to listen to this message.
Fear defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Fear - "an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger."
It’s interesting to me that our body doesn’t know the difference between the danger of a bear chasing us or an unpleasant email. They both cause us to sweat and all the other lovely things that happen with fear. The body is an amazing thing, and I’m glad we have these happen so our body can protect itself in the best way it can, but in the case of an unpleasant email, I wish we could take it down a notch.
The truth is that fear happens and it’s not fun at all. As we dive into the fears we encounter as an entrepreneur, I promise I’m not trying to make light of the emotional response we have to fear. We all process this differently and in all the suggestions I share today, please take what helps you and leave the rest, but know that I’m coming from a place of seeing fear as something that unnecessarily holds people (and myself) back from taking action.
We aren’t talking about fear for life or real danger, those are completely different and should be handled differently, but the fears I’ll talk about today are the kind that will lead to not taking action on your dreams and goals.
That’s where I come in friend! I love to help you take action and make progress on your goal because that will lead you to living the life you want. So let’s do this!
5 Fears All Entrepreneurs Face by Entrepreneur Magazine
Fear of failure - 33% of Americans say fear holds them back from starting their business; research also shows that failing the past makes entrepreneurs more than twice as likely to succeed in the future.
Fear of uncertainty - But the unknown is only unknown until you start and you know what they say…the only thing that’s certain in life is uncertainty.
Fear of rejection - Whether it’s worried about hearing ‘no’ from a potential client or hearing “your idea is dumb” from a friend, it’s scary to think of these things but you don’t need to hear “yes” from everyone, you just need to hear “yes” from the right people for you and every “no” gets you closer to a “yes”
Fear of not being good enough - This is a big one, we are our worst critic so this is more internal than it is external. Understanding what ‘enough’ is for you is the key to battling this one.
Fear of success - Sounds silly, but it really does creep in and it can actually stop you from making progress. Thoughts of ‘what if it works?’ are signs that this is happening. Capture them and talk to a trusted business friend. '
3 common fears I hear from yoga teachers
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“What if it does work?”
“What will so-and-so think?”
"What if it doesn’t work?”
This can come in the form of “What if no one registers?” or “What if only one person registers?” or “What if no one joins my email list?” or “What if no one responds to my instagram post?”
Regardless of which “what if” you’re battling, here’s how I combat the “What if it doesn’t work?” thoughts: I ask myself “What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
We don’t want to live in the doom-and-gloom world, but taking a realistic look at what’s the worst that can happen can often help pull you out of this thought process. Most of the time the answer is “I won’t make the money I want/need to”.
Yes, that reality sucks, and I don’t want you to think I’m making light of this, but here’s the next thing I would say…I need you to trust your resources. You’ve figured out life up until today and you’ve done amazingly so what makes you think you can’t figure this out? Trust yourself and your resources.
Maybe you stay at your full or part time job longer than you hoped.
Maybe you get a part time job for a while.
If you need to bring in money to your family budget, you will do it. And if it can’t be through teaching yoga at this moment, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed in any way. Teaching yoga can still be your ultimate plan for your business, it just might be a different path than you originally envisioned.
So if you find yourself thinking “What if it doesn’t work” I would challenge you to combat that thought with “What’s the worst thing that could happen if it doesn’t work?.” Then map out what you’ll do if that happens. You’ll have a plan and the fear will no longer stop you from taking action and moving forward with your dream.
"What if it DOES work?"
You might laugh when you see this one, but it’s incredible how many times I hear this as a coach. I’ll be working with a yoga teacher, most often it’s when I’m working one-on-one with them, and they will say “Amanda…what if this actually works out? I’m kinda nervous about that possibility."
First, I love when people share this with me because it’s so real in that moment and what a precious moment it is for me to be a part of.
Second, this happens when you’ve been working on something for a while so you’re really, really, really invested. This has never been a conversation I’ve had when it’s a spur-of-the-moment idea that someone wants to test out. Those happen with no fear of success whatsoever. But it’s the projects you’ve been working on for a while, when you’ve done the research and you know it’s good, that’s when the fear of success creeps in.
How I would suggest to combat this fear is to share this fear with someone else - a coach, a biz bestie, a partner, a therapist - someone you trust. This will help you get to the bottom of what’s going on as you tell someone else about this concern.
What I hope you find as you talk about this is what specifically you're worried about.
Are you worried that the tech will break if more people sign up or join?
Are you worried that you’ll make more money than you expect?
Are you worried that you’ll become more well-known?
The list could go on and on with this, but the thing you want to figure out is what exactly are you worried about when it comes to “if this works”.
Once you know this, you can tackle the fear head-on.
If you’re worried about the tech, test it a few times and also know that the likelihood of something going wrong from a tech perspective is high but you will handle it well.
If you’re worried about the money, make a plan for how you’ll allocate the amazing revenue you will receive.
If you’re worried about the notoriety, dig deeper to understand why this is concerning you. This one is more internal and there might be more to talk through with a therapist but at least you’ll know where the fear is coming from so you can address it.
No matter what the fear is, once you know where it’s truly coming from, you can tackle it!
Because this is what you want my friend - you want it to work so let’s do everything you can to get out of your way on this one!
“What will so-and-so think?”
I’m going to break this down into 2 sections: (1) random people in your life and (2) your potential students.
Random People In Your Life
The majority of the time when we have fear around what people might think, it falls in this camp. What will my mom, brother, aunt Sally, Karen from high school think? Umm…does it matter what they think?
I love this quote: “What someone else thinks is none of your business." It’s been attributed to many people, so I don’t know where it originated but it’s true. However, it’s nearly impossible to remember when you’re running a business.
Here’s my opinion: There are always going to be people who support you in your business journey and there will always be people who are jerks about it, too. It stinks that this is true, but it is, and anyone who says otherwise is lying to you.
But I’ll also say this: If someone is being a jerk to you about you being an entrepreneur, they don’t deserve to be in your circle, at least for the time being. Most of the time it has everything to do with what’s going on with them and nothing to do with what you’re doing, so it’s best to give them some space and if they come back around, that’s great. Bless and release my friend, bless and release!
I could go on and on about this fear and I actually did in episode #113. It’s a good one, so I would highly recommend listening to that one if you haven’t already or even if you have. I share a 3-part process that can help you navigate through this fear: Recognize it, Rephrase it, Return it. Enjoy!
Your Potential Students
The only time this comes up is around price so the real fear is around pricing your offering. You aren’t worried that they will think you’re silly for offering this; you’re worried that they will think it’s too expensive or too cheap.
So let’s tackle pricing right now in this mindset series because it’s totally part of your mindset.
First, money is not bad. We need money to live and unless you have a money tree in your backyard, you need to work in order to make money. So it’s not bad to make money.
Second, don’t get caught in the “charge your worth” trap. Your worth as a human is priceless and you could never charge your worth. However, you can charge for the value of your offering. This mindset shift can make all the difference in the world.
Third, pick a price that you’re comfortable and confident in and run with it for the first time you offer something, then reassess as you continue to offer that specific offering. Raise the price over time, change the offering over time to accommodate your students' needs, do what feels right.
Fourth, do some market research in your area to help you feel more comfortable. My go-to suggestion is to see what a 1-hour massage costs in your local area, as that’s the benchmark for an hourly rate for a private yoga session too. That can be your hourly rate which will help you price offerings even if they aren’t private sessions.
This is a loose formula as there are a lot of other factors that can come into play, but you get the idea here: Do the research, charge for the value of the offering, and move forward. You can always change the price of an offering.
When you’re comfortable with the price of your offering, you will not have the fear of “What will the potential student think”. It won’t enter your mind at all. You’ll present the offering to people and you’ll know if they are the right fit and it’s a good time for them, they will say yes. If they aren’t a good fit or it’s not the right time, they will say no or not this time.
Since we’re talking about money mindset, I’ve got a great resource for you! Jen Sincero wrote a book called You Are A Badass At Making Money and it’s fantastic! I highly recommend reading this book if you’re struggling with money mindset stuff - and we all do!
Your next step
We’ve talked about lots of fears that come up for entrepreneurs like us, and while there are certainly others that could be listed, these are the top that I see as a yoga for yoga teachers.
My next step for you today is to identify what fear is holding you back from taking action on your goal. Is it fear of failure? Fear of success? Fear of what others might think? No matter which one it is, I’ve shared tips in this episode to tackle that fear.
On this note, I realize how debilitating fear can be at times, so I in no way want to make light of this, but if you’re reaching to achieve a goal, fear can be the thing that stops you from making progress and I don’t want that for you.
Maybe it takes you a little longer than you hoped but that’s okay.
Maybe you have a different path to success than you thought and that’s okay.
The key is to take this at the speed that feels safe for you but when you find yourself not taking action because you’re nervous (not scared but nervous), please do yourself a favor and confront that fear so you can continue to make progress on your goal.
On that note, I’ll be talking about goals and how mindset plays a part in this in next week’s episode so be sure to tune in for that as well.
But for today, your next step is to identify what fear is holding you back from making progress and take steps to confront that fear so you can move past it.
Until next time, give yourself permission to have fears but move past them and grace along the way.
"When you find yourself not taking action because you’re nervous, please do yourself a favor and confront that fear so you can continue to make progress on your goal."
- Amanda McKinney
Ready to take action and move past your fear?
In Thrive, my monthly membership for yoga teachers, you get social media and email templates, monthly Q&A calls, advanced trainings, business check-ins, a private community, and more. Thrive is a membership that can support you in taking action on every part of your yoga business journey - from the very beginning all the way to advanced challenges!
