Q&A: The Fear Of Failure
So a student posted this in the Facebook group…
Fear of failure..
Hey guys, I am a software engineer by profession, working remotely to a software company in US(small team). Currently I am in Canada (originally from Nepal). From past 6 month i have been thinking of starting my own software development agency and I have also got a client (my current employer is happy to become my first client) but fear of failure is pulling me down. When I want to start then I start to think stuff like what if i dont get another client, What to do after my current client work is finished, where to find another client, can i sustain in long term blah blah.. because of these kind of fears I am still unable to start.
Any suggestion on how to overcome fear of failure? Also any practicle advice on finding clients?
P.s. please excuse any grammatical errors, I am posting this from my phone.
My replies:
Great work on putting yourself out there.
First, are you a Digital Flipping student? Why not just use Upwork to find more clients and close more deals? It’s the same principle of understanding what people want, but in this case you’ll actually do the work.
Two, on failure: I got rid of my fear of failure by redefining what failure means to me. To me everything is a learning experience. For example, in your case, if you don’t get another client… then you need to LEARN how to get another one. If you’re afraid of your current client work is finished you need to LEARN how to upsell more services.
I don’t see myself “failing” a lot… I see myself LEARNING a lot. And when you learn about how to rise out situations you do not like then you naturally build more and more confidence.
Hope that helps.
Another thing that has helped me get over my own fear of failure…
It was the mindset that giving up on my dreams would be more painful than not trying at all.
For example, in my early entrepreneurial years I’ve developed the mindset that GIVING UP IS ULTIMATE FAILURE. Temporary challenges, on the other hand, I can learn to overcome.
That same mindset has helped me do some crazy things that, looking back, I couldn’t believe I did.
For example, when I mentioned buying a one way ticket across the globe for a better environment… I pretty much enough money to only last one month. I had NO CLUE how’d I make any more to live. Stressful? Hell yeah. But what… 5 years later… it all worked out.
