By Dr. John F. Demartini
An entrepreneurial spirit resides deep inside everyone. When this inspired driving force is unleashed, visionaries and leaders emerge. Those who take inspired action (proactive thinking and behavior rooted in inspiration and purpose) and who subsequently create amazing accomplishments are crystal clear about their purpose, goals and objectives. These risk takers, change agents and trail blazers are living and acting congruently with their highest values and are, therefore, willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill their dreams and desires.
Others are “settling” for the status quo – not wanting to rock the boat or make waves, not wanting to experience changes or challenges, not wanting to admit that they are essentially afraid to “go for it.”
Fighting Fear
Those who follow their calling and embark on the journey toward business ownership have been known to face and overcome fears. The seven fears that can hinder the entrepreneur from amazing achievement are as follows:
- The fear that they are not intelligent enough. The fear that they are not creative or imaginative enough or that they don’t have a degree or the right credentials. This fear can stop fledgling entrepreneurs from seeing their real intellectual capacity and can cause them to shrink away from taking inspired action which could help them grow a thriving and globally serving organization.
The fear of failure. The fear that they could fail or not succeed at their entrepreneurial endeavours can sometimes be so overpowering that they lie to themselves about their dreams and say to themselves “they are not really all that important.”
The fear of loss of money or not making enough money. This fear can cause them to remain in a job that does not inspire them and make them unconsciously spend their monies so they will have an excuse not to take a risk and create their own business with even greater profits.
The fear of losing the respect of family members. This fear can make them worry that their family members may disapprove; that their loved ones may leave or reject them if they are not doing what these “loved ones” see as “the right thing.”
The fear of social rejection. The fear of what others will think, or that others won’t like them, that they won’t fit in. They believe that someone else’s opinion is more important than theirs, which can stop them from doing some service that is truly amazing.
The fear of not being physically capable. The fear of not having enough energy, not being strong enough or having the right look to fulfil their vision.
The fear of breaking away from accepted establishment norms that may be stagnant, breaking established ethics that may be outdated and doing something they don’t believe will be acceptable by older authority figures such as polarized religious groups or some radical fraction of government. With this fear, they can remain subordinated or minimize themselves and their dreams to someone else to whom they have given power.
One of the ways to help dissolve these seven self-imposed fears is to write down 100 benefits to each of the very fears that they imagine might occur until they see that they will get just as many benefits as perceived drawbacks if the thing they feared actually did occur. A fear, as defined by this author, is a one-sided perception that a new entrepreneur may have about an upcoming event for which he or she is seeing only the “negative” outcome. When the entrepreneur balances out his or her incomplete perceptions and sees that that he or she will actually experience a balance of both challenging negatives and supportive positives (regardless of what the frightening event may be), the grip that fears have on inspired actions and dreams can dissolve.
Using The Demartini Value Determination™ Process (see sidebar), entrepreneurs can ask themselves a series of questions that assist them in becoming crystal clear about their most important values, objectives and areas of life. When they know what these priorities are, they are then able to ask how they can make money out of doing what they love, while serving others’ values and this leads them to an inspiring life. (Note to readers: a free Demartini Value Determination Process Workbook is available via www.DrDemartini.com),
When entrepreneurs know what direction to take and they don’t have fear holding them back, they begin taking focused action steps toward their purpose, goals and objectives and they begin to more fully live their dreams. Inspired action and perseverance add up to produce great achievements. Unleashing the hidden spirit of the entrepreneur within can produce amazing rewards!
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Sidebar: Questions and Clarity
Knowing and understanding one’s highest priorities opens the pathway for “doing what you love and loving what you do.” Serving others according to their highest values, combined with doing work that an individual is truly “jazzed about,” leads to greater financial rewards and a fulfilled, inspired life.
Asking and answering the following 13 questions taken from the Demartini Value Determination Process equips individuals with the ability to clarify their values, objectives and life priorities and to overcome the fears that prevent them from greater accomplishments.
- How do you fill your space?
- How do you spend your time?
- How do you spend your energy?
- How do you spend your money?
- Where are you most organized?
- Where are you most reliable?
- What dominates your thoughts?
- What do you visualize most?
- What do you most often talk to yourself about?
- What do you most often talk to others about?
- What inspires you?
- What goals stand out in your life and have stood the test of time?
- What do you love to learn or read about most?
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About Dr. John Demartini
Dr. John Demartini, a native of Houston, is a world renowned human behavior specialist, success consultant, educator and internationally published author. He is the founder of the Demartini Institute, a private research and education organization headquartered in Houston with a curriculum of over 72 different courses covering multiple aspects of human development. For more information and to download a free Value Determination Process Workbook, please visit www.DrDemartini.com.
