I was nervous to speak in front of 100 people, so I spoke to 250 people instead.
Counterintuitive, I know.
But surprise, surprise – it worked!
You see, I faced many doubts in my life.
One of them was when I had the privilege to speak in front of 100 people at The Business Show, Europe’s largest business conference.
I was honored to be chosen but at the same time was incredibly anxious.
From an audience of 1 to an audience of 100? The extra two zeros seemed extremely daunting.
I began to doubt my abilities and wondered if I was really cut out for entrepreneurship.
But then I remembered a similar principle that could solve my problem:
Exposure therapy.
This is the concept of facing your fears head-on and gradually increasing the level of exposure until the fear no longer has power over you.
Poetic, isn’t it? It’s like freeing yourself from the shackles that is fear.
Holding on to that principle, I decided to take a bold step.
Instead of speaking to 100 people, I signed up to speak to 250 people at Aberystwyth University, my alma mater.
The reasoning there was that “If I could speak to 250 people first, then a crowd of 100 won’t seem scary anymore.”
(Well, unless they’re carrying tomatoes and pitchforks like an angry mob, then that’s probably a different story lol)
So I went off the deep end.
Delivered my piece to the students and conquered my nervousness
When the day of The Business Show talk came around, something amazing happened when I spoke.
I found myself getting more and more comfortable, and my passion for my business began to shine through. By the end of my talk, I felt like I could take on the world.
I think what really helped was dipping into a familiar environment but in larger quantities.
It was familiar and foreign at the same time. It was the push I need to finally set things into motion.
Looking back on that experience, I realized that it was a powerful lesson in the importance of facing your fears and stepping outside of your comfort zone.
As entrepreneurs, we are constantly faced with challenges and uncertainties, and it can be easy to become paralyzed by fear. But it’s only by pushing ourselves beyond our limits that we can truly grow and succeed.
So if you’re an entrepreneur who’s struggling with fear and self-doubt, I encourage you to take a page out of my book and embrace exposure therapy.
Challenge yourself to take on bigger and more intimidating tasks, and watch as your confidence and abilities grow.
It may not be easy, but I promise it will be worth it in the end.
Think about it. If it doesn’t terrify you (even just a little bit), is it really worth doing?
If you enjoy a good discussion…
Please feel free to head on over to my LinkedIn and let’s connect – https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlswa/