Dear Freelancers,
Today I want to write about a topic that surely moves many of you.
Fear. It comes in many forms. Some people are afraid to become self-employed and follow their calling because they think they are not good enough. Because they think there is no market for their service (let me tell you – there is a market for EVERYTHING… just think about the people who buy used socks on the internet :-D). They think no one will buy their art, their service, their book, in short, their product.
But ultimately, it’s the fear that people won’t want them as a person. A deeply rooted fear of rejection. Because no matter what we sell. No matter which product or great service we offer. The actual product is us. WE are being bought. Our authenticity. Our originality. Our brand. Our honesty. Based on the trust that people have in us. Because if people don’t trust, they won’t buy your product or service.
It could be as great as possible. Every sales conversation. Every pitch. Every offer. The decisive factor is YOU! And I say this with several years of sales experience. Because I have successfully sold various products and services. I was always very good at it for a certain time. Until I realized that the product or service provided no real value for the buyer. That it didn’t move people forward. In short – that it was all about money. And I’m too honest for that, and money itself is not important enough to me. That’s why I couldn’t sell anymore from that point on. I was afraid of ripping people off. The fear of losing my integrity. A justified fear. Because my values are important to me.
There are justified fears. Because fears are a protective mechanism. It is right to be afraid of jumping off a cliff because it could hurt you. With such fears, you should check where you land. As far as possible. And whether it might be more sensible to just jump into the water below and not take the detour via the cliff. 😉
But there are also unfounded fears. And irrational fears. The fear of becoming self-employed is one of them. I’ve always had the fear of leading a life of mediocrity and regretting that I didn’t live my life to the fullest. Not following my passions. Giving up what brings me joy and fulfillment. I never had a fear of failure. Luckily, that fear doesn’t exist for me. I always jump into the cold water and then wonder why it’s cold. That I have to start swimming. That I swallow water and need to cough. But through that, I’ve always grown. And I know that many people don’t jump into the cold water and thus miss out on amazing experiences. I think that’s a real shame. That’s why I founded freelanceboosters. That’s why this blog and community exist.
I have a big request for you… for each and every one of you who are thinking about whether freelancing or self-employment is right for you and are afraid to take the leap:
Make sure that your fear doesn’t stop you from living a fulfilled life!
It’s a marathon. Not a sprint. There are no short-term rewards, and you will always encounter obstacles. Problems you will need to solve, and you will solve them. And through that, you will become better at what you do. Because with every obstacle, with every stone on your path to success, you will get better at your work. You will grow. Your product or service will grow with you. You will build momentum and become unstoppable. And if you walk this path long enough and continue to develop, success will come naturally. A beautiful sentence I’ve learned here is: “I don’t fail. I either succeed or learn.”
Maybe we’re also simply afraid of success, as Steven Pressfield writes in his book. What do you think?
If you have questions, want to network, or be part of a strong community that inspires and supports you every day, feel free to join our new, free Skool community: Link
Thank you for your time!
Tobias
“Inner resistance lives from fear. We even experience it as fear. But what are we actually afraid of? We are afraid of the consequences if we listen to the call of our hearts. We are afraid of failure, of poverty, of going bankrupt. We are afraid of embarrassing ourselves if we make it on our own, and of being humiliated when we crawl back to square one after a failure. We are afraid of appearing selfish. Afraid of being bad wives or unfaithful husbands. Afraid of not being able to feed our families anymore. Afraid of sacrificing our loved ones’ dreams for our own. Afraid of betraying our ethnic group, our social class, or our friends. Afraid of failure. Afraid of making a fool of ourselves. Afraid that our studies, our education, and everything our relatives have sacrificed for, and for which we’ve worked ourselves to the bone, could be in vain. Afraid of the unknown. Afraid of emptiness. Afraid of not being able to turn back, undo anything, or change anything, so that we have to live with a wrong decision for the rest of our lives. Afraid of going crazy. Afraid of losing our mind. Afraid of death.
These are all serious fears. But they are not what we’re truly afraid of. Because behind them is an even bigger fear, the mother of all fears, so close to us that we don’t even believe in its existence, even when we speak its name.
The fear of success.”
Freely quoted from Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art”