Fear is an important part of your success.

In fact, every time I talk to people who are thinking of giving freelancing a shot, they talk about it a lot.

What kinds of fear am I talking about?

Typically, the kinds of fear I hear about is one big fear of the unknown.

And I totally get it.

I’m not going to tell you that pulling the trigger and giving freelancing a shot is easy.

Because it would be cruel to lie to you about something like that.

It is really tough, and you’re not going to become the next Steve Jobs or whatever overnight.

It takes a really specific type of person to not crack under pressure, and not give up when trying super hard to put yourself out there.

But…what do I mean by that?

You have to be determined.

You have to have the courage to just keep pushing forward no matter what.

And, most importantly, you have to be okay with everything not being the exact same every single day.

In fact, I reflected on the role that fear played on my business in the very beginning, via Instagram recently:

When I found that sign it gave me a much-needed boost and seemed like the universe’s way of lifting me back up during a not-so-great week.

Because it gave me the much-needed reminder that this has been an incredible journey. 

Where it all began:

If you’ve read my start here page, you might have seen the blurb about how my business started.

Unlike a large percentage of the entrepreneurs you’ve likely read about, it didn’t start because I hated my job.

It started because I was struggling to find a “regular” job and had grown up surrounded by a lot of self-employed people, so I knew that this was an option for me.

So I did the work, didn’t go out much, and sent pitch, after pitch, after pitch, while setting up my website. 

And it wasn’t easy.

Especially because ten years ago I thought I knew exactly where my life was headed, and it didn’t work out that way, so I had to explore other options.

In fact, the whole first year I felt like I had to justify what I was doing, and explain why I wasn’t following a conventional path that I grew up believing was the social norm.

And then my confidence increased.

I started to write for larger companies and blogs, and my pitches got better and better.

But I still have bad days, and sometimes even bad weeks, and doubt myself sometimes.

Where fear comes in…

Fear is what can stop you from pitching that major publication, or apply for that client project that you think you’re under qualified for.

And believe me, you won’t have your dream client knocking at your door if you passively wait, or use fear as an excuse.

But being afraid is okay.

It’s what stops you from irrational behavior, and what forces you to question your choice to make a specific choice.

But, if you know it will open doors to awesome stuff, don’t pay attention to those feelings of fear.

I don’t know if you all know this but I was born with a disability called Dyspraxia so I feel like I know a thing or two about fear.

Because being vulnerable with people, and forcing them to come to terms with whatever makes you different can be terrifying. 

But, most importantly what it taught me, is that just being exactly what you are, rather than trying to fit some faux mold of what people want you to be, gets peoples’ attention.

It gets their attention because there’s too much unauthentic stuff in this world.

And that’s a pretty good approach to take if you’re not sure what makes you different from everyone else.

Focus less on living up to other peoples’ standards, and more on doing things your way.

Because overall that’s what will get the right people to pay attention.