Are you afraid of putting yourself out there?
I am terrified.
I was afraid of talking to clients and coming off unprofessional. During one of my first logo consultations, all I could think about was trying not to sell. I was able to discuss the price and felt extremely stiff. Anxious for the end of my presentation, I gave a price range and as I expected, they pushed back. “We can't afford that,” and asked for a proposal. I didn’t try to sell or defend myself. I simply said “I don't want to waste your time and I will send you a short one page proposal.”
After a few months of silence, I heard back and we scheduled a follow-up consultation. This time I reframed my mindset from sales to simply helping the client. Clear headed and relaxed with the pressure off, I discovered they didn’t need a new logo, we just needed to make some adjustments. As for some extra work, I communicated with the marketing team and found they were using the wrong file types. After resolving this I ended up saving them money by helping their processes to be more efficient.
Let’s break down this question. Are you afraid? Being afraid is a feeling of anxiety, Seth Godin teaches us that anxiety is like an extremely hot summer day. It's inconvenient and uncomfortable. There is little you can do about it, however, you move forward. In Star Wars, Jedi’s are tested to confront their fears. Their decision to accept or give in to it, will decide if they are true masters. F-E-A-R as Errol Gerson explains it, simply means False Evidence that Appears Real.
There is hope. By accepting that we are afraid, we become more resilient. Much easier said than done, right? It's ok to be afraid. It's ok to be anxious. Why shouldn't we be? If it were easy everyone would be doing it. Fear cannot be trusted. We must pull ourselves out of the equations, reframe and do the next right thing.
Now, I want to reframe the question. Instead of asking, am I afraid? Let's ask, what will I learn by putting myself out there? Errol taught us, there are two intentions in life, the intention to be right or the intention to learn. You will never know what you can teach while you learn. If your intention is to be right, no one will listen. Without fear there is no courage, the choice is yours. Give into false evidence or remove your ego and learn from your failed attempts. These are the ideas we will pass on.
Here is a challenge: Share one thing about you on instagram or twitter. It can be about what you learned, felt, heard, or saw. You can write, draw, photograph, film or sing about it. Whatever you feel brave enough to try and share. Tag me (@fordstudio) if you like, so I can learn more about you. You can use #passiton. Social media is also at the bottom of the page.
What will we learn by putting yourself out there?
We just may learn that we are courageous and helpful.