By JACKIE JACKSON

We’ve all been there. I remember lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. This wasn’t a one-time occurrence. Restless, panicky nights had become a kind of unwanted ritual for me. I check the time. I shudder as I had to be up for work in less than four hours.

I RESENTED the daily grind of my “safe” corporate job that everyone says is the “right” thing to do.

I thought to myself “I need a change” but the truth is I was afraid of change. So the change remained just that. A thought.

I felt stuck in life. I wanted a change, but the fear of the unknown kept me rooted firmly in place.

I was afraid to start a business without the safety net of a paycheck.

I was kidding myself that things were fine. That mediocrity was good enough.

But the truth is, I wasn’t thriving, I was just surviving. Barely getting by, living from paycheck to paycheck. Without my idea, car, home, and struggling to save up to afford a yearly holiday.

I knew there must be a better way. I wanted to start my own business, rather than growing someone else’s for a small fraction of the profit. But the fact remained, I was scared to start a business of my own. I spent years putting my dreams on hold because of fear. It wasn’t until I realized how insidious fear was. How it controls our lives - if we let it.

I decided to face fear for what it was - something holding me back. I started my idea business, coaching women into financial freedom. There was pain along the way, but I made it work. Today, I coach both men and women on how to overcome their fears and take control of their life.

The Big Secret Is to Get Rid of Your Fear of the Unknown and Follow Your Dreams

This was the game changer…

I got to thinking about my mortality. It was sobering, but worth it. Here’s why. I imagined how my life would look in 50 years if I didn’t face up to this fear of the unknown, being too scared to start a business of my own.  I thought about how I would feel near the end of my life, when I was old and gray.

Would I be satisfied if I let my life carry on unchecked?

I realized that living a life without pursuing your dreams was far more scary, and made me far more anxious, than chasing your dreams.

Try it yourself. Will you feel satisfied at the end of your life if you carry on like you are now? Or do you need a change to get your life on the track that’s right for you?

I will let you in on the secrets about fear I have learned over the years from coaching 1,000’s of men and women. Read on to learn how to face fear and use it as a positive force to fuel you in reaching your goals. 

Facts About Fear That You Need to Hear

People fear what they don’t understand. Sometimes they are afraid of fear itself. I meet clients who panic about even the smallest of things. I understand that even small problems can cause big stress when it comes to your financial well-being.

My point is this: fear cannot be avoided. So embrace it. Deal with it, learn from it, but don’t let it control you. This brings me to the first fact you need to hear about fear:

1. Fear happens to everyone

We are all human. We have our good and bad days. Even people who seem to be at the top of their game are fearful. They have a fear of failure, of looking dumb, of all kinds of things.

There is one difference. They realize the worst that can happen isn’t that bad!

Failure is never the end of the world. It’s a learning experience. I’m not saying you should take big risks but know that experiencing fear is completely natural. It is a bodily response, like hunger. And like hunger it comes and goes, so don’t let it dictate what you can and can’t do.

1. Fear will never completely go away.

Sorry to bring bad news, but it’s not that bad - I promise! This is why:

Do you remember feeling scared about doing something when you were younger, but ended up doing it anyway? It could have been learning how to drive, going on a date, or trying out skydiving.

After facing and overcoming whatever anxiety you had about it, would you go back in time and change that? Heck no! You got satisfaction about overcoming that challenge. The next time you tried something similar, you realized that you are not as scared as you were the time before. Maybe your friends and family marveled about how you could approach something with such calm, collected confidence.

That’s how we expand our comfort zone, and leads us into the final fact:  

1. Fear is your friend.

We now know that it is unreasonable to expect fear to go away completely (but it will get better!). So, what to do? Use it to your advantage! Use fear as a motivator. Use the energy you get from feeling fear to face up to it. This is one thing I train my mindshift students to do. If you want to learn more about utilizing fear to your advantage, click here to sign up to a free video workshop for more detail.  

Overcome Fear of the Unknown When Making a Career Change

When I quit my ‘safe’ job to start my real estate coaching business, I didn’t wait until I was free of fear. That’s because I realized that feeling would never go away. Instead, I used it to my advantage. I channeled it into laser-sharp focus to build my business into a six-figure earner. This is how you overcome those fears that hold you back.

1. Demystify the fear

You are taking the steps to learn about fear. This helps you relax, as you find out that fear happens to everyone and is completely normal.

1. Reframe the fear

Don’t view fear as a barrier. It is a vital motivator that gives you more energy and clarity, and warns you about major problems. It is not supposed to keep you stuck.

1. Don’t wait for fear to subside. You are in control!

The longer you wait, the harder it gets. Once I started, I realized that the fear doesn’t have to hold me back. I felt the fear, and did it anyway!

You Have the Power to Deal with Anxiety When You Are Afraid of Change

Every week I get emails asking: “Jackie, I need a career change, but I don’t know what to do.” The thing is, it’s the fear of the unknown that causes many individuals to procrastinate for years - sometimes for a lifetime.

I have men and women coming to me who make a change, have some success, and are still panicking! I ask them what’s wrong and they say they didn’t expect things to actually work out! They have a fear of success. It’s a sneaky way your body tries to make you accept the status quo.

Whatever it is about embarking on a new journey in your life that makes you nervous, you have the resources to manage it. The power is within you. Coaches and mentors just show you how to access it.

When you go through the exercises to help reProgram your thinking, you are aligned with success. This is the foundation to reWriting your money story and achieving financial mastery. As a result, you will get rid of imposter syndrome anxiety and learn how to face fear directly.  

Jackie Jackson is a Real Estate Coach & Mentor based in Central Florida. After working over a decade in corporate America and climbing the success ladder to vice president, she walked away from it all. As a result, she pursued her calling as a mentor, motivator, and business coach. She does one-on-one coaching, offers boot camps and speaks at seminars and teach courses.

Visit www.TheJackieJackson.com