Starting an online business is like learning a foreign language. Or a new dance step. It feels awkward to not know what you’re doing. Especially if you’re already proficient in many other areas of life. Why is that?
Learning something new requires eating humble pie. Admitting you don’t know everything already. We grownups often have a hard time with that.
Ever been stopped in your tracks by any of these prickly obstacles?
- fear of embarrassment
- looking foolish
- being rejected
- fear of the unknown
Me too.
Dan Millman is a champion gymnast and popular writer. He is the author of thirteen books about self-mastery, including The Peaceful Warrior.
His advice might surprise you:
- Don’t make success a goal. Simply do your best. You can’t control the outcome. However, by doing your best you boost your chances at success.
Paralyzing fear is often at the heart of any big challenge or change. As Millman says, even the almighty Michael Jordan cannot make the ball land in the basket. The only thing Michael can control is whether or not to take the shot. Here’s the thing:
Although we can’t control fear or make it go away, we can overcome it.
Millman has some other stellar advice. He tells tennis pros that when they’re on the court in the frenzy of a game, not to see their opponent across the net. “Instead,” he says, “see your student and your teacher.”
Switching that advice around a bit, we could say that when starting an online business, don’t see your competitors across the Net.
Instead, see people with a genuine interest in your service or product. They’re looking for ways that you can fix their problem, or answer their question.
Not knowing what you’re doing can be downright intimidating, no doubt. But it can also be your biggest blessing, because you stand to learn something very valuable, whether it’s a new dance, or a new way of conducting your business.
Let go of your fear of rejection, or of not getting it p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Perfection is an ideal, rarely achieved (or at least rarely achieved precisely the way you envisioned it).
Let go of achieving success. Concentrate your efforts on doing your best and overcoming your fears. Do this every single day while creating your online business, and watch what happens.
The secret to success may lie in not making success your goal.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you! 
