In the world of entrepreneurship, the notion that leaders are born, not made, is a long-standing belief. However, in my experience of 20 years as a business coach, I've learned that this belief is a myth that needs to be debunked. Leadership is a skill that can be cultivated and refined over time. I know because I help entrepreneurs develop their leadership skills and have the privilege of witnessing the before and after. The shift is powerful, but at least two limiting factors could get in the way of advancing your leadership skills: lack of confidence and the belief that you must be someone you're not to lead successfully.

Leadership is not about becoming an extrovert when you're not. You are no less a leader if you weren't born sociable and outgoing. Excellent leadership is built upon authenticity and trust. If you try to be someone you're not, you will fail.

So, how can you strengthen your skills while being true to who you are and your core values? The first thing to know is that leadership skills can be learned and honed through experience and education. And no, I don't mean a Harvard degree. The information you need is right at your fingertips.

There are developmental building blocks, mindset shifts, skills, and qualities that you already possess to get you on your way to step into the shoes of an outstanding leader confidently. It's time to Bullshift™any beliefs that you're not cut out to lead.

Test your leadership abilities with my free download,
“50 Tough Questions You Never Ask Yourself But Should.”

The Building Blocks of Leadership.

Picture leadership as a puzzle with pieces that you can assemble over time. The puzzle pieces represent skills like effective communication, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and strategic thinking. These are not innate traits but learned behaviors that you can hone through practice, experience, and confidence. You can build these skills over time, but also by observing the great leaders of our time through reading, listening to podcasts, and surrounding yourself with people who possess the qualities and skills you wish to enhance and develop.

Embrace a Growth Mindset.

Embracing a growth mindset is the cornerstone of leadership development. It's about believing you can develop your abilities, skills, and even your intuitive senses through dedication and hard work. When you limit yourself with negative beliefs about yourself, money, and the world around you, opportunities and valuable learning experiences will be missed and misunderstood.

Lean on your values.

When business owners contact me to discuss coaching, they usually feel a bit (or a lot) lost. They would give anything for a compass of sorts to guide them through their next steps and choices. Here's the thing—you already have an internal compass, and you need to lean on it to help you at every step along the way. When you identify and live by your personal and professional values, you'll make better choices, feel less confused, and gain clarity about yourself and your company's future.

Your values will help define your company's culture, another thing too many business owners neglect to do.

Contact me for a complimentary consultation if you'd like to learn more about defining your values;
it's one of the most significant things you'll do to develop into the leader you want to be.

Don't mistake empathy for weakness in leadership.

Great leaders can and should have empathy. This quality doesn't make you soft or weak; it's a strength and honorable leadership trait. The problem for highly empathetic people is that they sometimes need more confidence to make tough choices and to speak up without fear of hurting someone's feelings or confrontation. Empathy-driven leadership gets results and indicates a high level of emotional intelligence.

Emotionally intelligent people can use their feelings and intuitive senses to motivate themselves and others. They can understand and consider their team members' feelings to make sure each employee works from their best skill sets, not in areas of weakness. Empathetic leaders resolve conflict well because they can see and understand the nuances of a dispute or disagreement. Emotional intelligence also allows leaders to form intentional bonds with other people, connecting on a level that other leaders may not. If you are empathic, it can become your greatest strength, not a weakness.

Leadership is not an exclusive club for the chosen few; skills, experience, and qualities can be cultivated, nurtured, and refined. By adopting a growth mindset, continuous learning, and drawing inspiration from the great leaders of our times, you are already on the path to becoming the leader you aspire to be.

The post Afraid Your Leadership Skills Suck? BullShift!™ appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

People often confuse high-achieving behavior with perfectionistic behavior. High achievers are dedicated, determined individuals with a strong desire to accomplish something important to them. Their achievements are not about what others will think of them or a fear of failure; it's to gain personal gratification from their success. On the other hand, people who deem themselves perfectionists are not driven by the pursuit of perfection; the avoidance of failure drives them.rue perfectionists aren't trying to be perfect; they are avoiding not being good enough. This avoidance dictates much of their behavior, and it's linked to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and even suicide. Paul Hewitt, Ph.D., and psychologist Gordon Flett are two of the most respected researchers of perfectionistic behavior. They say that those who feel social pressure to achieve perfection tend to think that the better they do, the better they are expected to do. And so, the search for absolute perfection never ends.

Are you a high achiever or a perfectionist? Here are seven signs that your pursuit of perfection may put you at risk of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and, in extreme cases, suicidal thinking.

1. Despite your search for perfection, you never feel perfect.

Dr. Hewitt uses this example of a college student who is also one of his patients and how the student viewed his success. The student was convinced he needed an A+ in a particular course, so he studied hard and aced the class. However, the student became even more depressed and suicidal than he was prior to the end of the semester. “He told me that the A+ was just a demonstration of how much of a failure he was,” says Hewitt. The student argued that if he were perfect, he wouldn't have had to work so hard to get an A+.

2. As a perfectionist, you cannot accept and celebrate your success.

It's never good enough, so you get sucked so far into the details that you become frustrated–even angry. Even when your goal is complete and results in success, you believe you could and should have done it better.

Perfectionists don't acknowledge their wins to the extent of feeling the joy and satisfaction of a job well done. Instead, they find flaws in how they (or others) executed the project. There is always something wrong, even though the outcome is exactly what they wanted.

3. You don't allow yourself any mistakes.

While an individual with a healthy mindset allows for mistakes, an extreme perfectionist doesn't forgive their mistakes. Instead of viewing them as a learning opportunity, you criticize and put pressure on yourself for not predicting a less-than-perfect outcome. You feel inadequate, even stupid, and these feelings preoccupy your mind, often to the point of losing all productivity.

4. You put up a front, insisting everything is perfect.

Perfectionists are intensely afraid of being judged by others. They often want the outside world to view them as being perfect and making perfection easy. Even when your world is a disaster zone, you put up a front to lead others to think it's all just perfect.

5. You avoid taking on challenges that may cause you to fail.

Perfectionists like to stick with what they know. If you're presented with an opportunity that means you'll have to develop more skills or move outside of your comfort zone, you're likely to turn it down. You're afraid you're not smart enough to tackle a new learning curve and will be seen as a failure or let down someone.

6. You believe that your likeability is linked to being perfect.

Personality and positive qualities like honesty, compassion, humor, etc., aren't what perfectionists believe people will like about them. It's not enough to be a wonderful person; you must be perfectly wonderful. You don't allow others to see your flaws, and you most likely talk about your achievements but never your failures.

7. Your life doesn't satisfy you.

Perfectionists cope well in a low-stress environment–so as long as nothing challenges you, you're fine. When was the last time you weren't challenged by life? Right, because nothing is perfect. When life seems unsettled to you, it presents a problem. Anxiety often increases, which offers the illusion that nothing is going well, thereby decreasing life satisfaction.

8. You need help with getting things done on time.

Since perfection is an illusion, the pursuit of perfection is never complete, and neither are your projects. You may get things done, but you constantly battle the decisions and motivation to complete certain things. The “what ifs” and expectation of a negative consequence or result preoccupies you, and the pressure can be overwhelming.

Can you overcome the seemingly never-ending pursuit of perfection?

There's nothing we can't overcome if we put our minds to it. Pay attention to these situations if you occasionally insist on perfection, but it causes excessive stress. I suggest journaling about them to find the shared link. The awareness alone will help you get to the core and figure out what it's all about. Observe how others accept themselves, flaws and all, and assign yourself a few virtual mentors to follow. Learning how successful people built upon their failures instead of hiding from them will help get things into perspective.

Hewitt and Flett say that perfectionism is a risk factor for psychological disorders–not a disorder itself. If it leads to depression, anxiety, or other exhausting mental states, therapy can help. Yes, you can develop a healthy mindset and make life much easier and more rewarding for yourself.

The post 8 Signs You’re a Perfectionist (and Why It’s Toxic to Your Mental Health) appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

It takes work, ingenuity, and smarts, but rest assured; you can find your way through the tough times. You'll need to keep your head on straight and view this period as an opportunity for change. If you engage in negativity, then see it for what it is–Bullshift!

1. Find the Bullshift™ by examining the true reason for your financial woes.

It's not unusual for struggling business owners to blame fickle customers, employees who don't get it, and a changing industry that leaves them feeling out of control. The blame list goes on and on, and some of these reasons are sound, but that doesn't mean you can't do anything about it. Usually, the more significant problem is within the entrepreneur, so your mindset is the first thing to examine. What is the real reason for your situation? Be honest with yourself, asking what you are afraid of about taking the next steps.

Once you isolate the problems (usually, there's more than one reason for financial stress), you can create a plan to address them skillfully and creatively. Often, it's not as tragic as you may believe. This is where a good coach or therapist comes in handy; perhaps that could be your very first step.

2. Eliminate expenses unnecessary to your small business.

During more abundant times, many entrepreneurs are tempted to spend money unnecessarily. Some of these temptations are new office space, nicer cars, overstaffing, and increased personal spending. Always consult with your accountant and talk things through with your coach or mentor before making decisions like these. Look at your profit and loss statements to help you recognize opportunities to adjust your spending. Be sure to weigh the pros and cons of laying off team members. If it leaves you in the position of doing all the work and none of the strategic growth efforts, it may not be a wise choice.

3. Find your low-hanging fruit.

Sometimes we don't see the opportunities right in front of us. The most efficient means to increase your small business's cashflow is often found within your existing customer and prospect lists. Upsell them, offer something new, and connect them more often and more effectively.
Is your website's traffic volume adequately reflected in your conversion rates? Are you missing an opportunity to sell something that visitors to your site aren't finding? Examine your sales funnel if your conversion rates are low.
Lastly, look at your accounts receivable; how many of your accounts are past due? AR is often a goldmine that small business owners hesitate to act upon. Put a plan in place to get more aggressive about collecting monies due.

4. Market like crazy.

If a dip in the economy is the reason for your cash flow issue, other businesses are likely suffering. Just like you, they are tightening the budget. The marketing budget is usually one of the first cuts that business owners make, and that's not always a smart idea. However, you can use this to your advantage because advertising rates may also be slashed. Take advantage of lower rates and out-market your competition even if the economy causes buyers to cut back and the audience is smaller than it used to be. You'll get ahead of the game if you gain the lion's share of the audience.

5. Repackage your services or products.

How can you offer a bargain or something fresh and new to your customers? I have a client who manufactures and sells a popular line of dishes and accessories for tabletop décor. By examining her market more closely, she determined that customers like bundled product offerings in addition to individual selections. With a slight break in price and attractive packaging for these gift sets, now her customers buy more items from her website. She has made purchasing and gift-giving easier, appealing to the customer's urge to buy.

You can do the same if you offer a service. Look for missed opportunities in the way you package and price your services so you can create something new and attractive for your audience.

6. Adapt and innovate.

Innovative companies survive difficult times because they adapt, not only when times are tough but always. You can ask your customers what they want, but, as Steve Jobs said, they don't know. Where do you see future trends going?

The templated design platform, Canva, is one example of a trendsetter. They are listed on Fast Company's 2022 50 Most Innovative Companies, referred to as a word processor for our modern digital design culture. The company has rolled out tools for every form of content imaginable, making good design accessible to people like you and me.

How can you become a leader in creating new trends?

7. Show your customers more love.

It's impossible to place a value on brand loyalty. Provide a great product or service, ease of use, outstanding customer service, and other efforts that make you unique. Your customers will become vocal advocates for your brand. Don't be stingy in developing campaigns and implementing policies that will turn your customers into raving fans.

Make sure that your efforts are well thought out, or you will suffer the consequences as this restaurant owner did:

Restaurant “xyz” is the fifth dining establishment to occupy a specific building in my area. The other four have failed miserably. When the newest restaurant hit the one-year mark, they sent a clever email blast about breaking the property's curse. Almost as an afterthought, they thanked their loyal customer base for making it possible. Nice, but where's the real show of appreciation? They ended the email by telling us to keep coming in to purchase more food and drink so their success could continue. No discount offers or other creative expressions of thanks. This indiscretion has not gone unnoticed, as diners have made comments on social media and among themselves. The restaurant saw a dip in business. While it wasn't long-lasting, I'm confident the restaurant was negatively impacted.

The post The Economy Has Tanked; My Small Business Will Never Make It. Bullshift! appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

Why is confidence important?

Some people feel like imposters and walk around in fear of being found out, that they don’t belong. They believe they just got lucky to have as much success as they’ve had. When in this state, it’s impossible to imagine success and to take the next steps with ease. Whereas self-confidence makes it easy for us to visualize success and difficult for us to imagine failure. If you can’t envision your desired outcome, it’s awfully difficult to make it happen.

A strong sense of confidence will positively influence your work, access to happiness, and even your health. A confident disposition is important because of the way it makes us feel and it allows us to live a more joyful, productive life.

Confidence is contagious!

What’s fascinating is that confidence is contagious, and there’s a reason for that—mirror neurons. Have you ever noticed that when you're sitting across from someone, you end up mimicking one another's body position? Mimicking a companion's position, like crossed arms, elbows on the table, and legs crossed are examples of mirror neurons at work  Confidence can be mirrored back to us as well. When, for instance, you are confident in a presentation, the audience will subconsciously pick up on that energy and mimic it back to you. If you stumble on your words and your lack of confidence shows, the best you’ll get from your audience is sympathy.

How to tap into your confidence.

You can access your confidence by creating something to anchor it to.  Let’s have some fun and create these anchors. We’ll begin with a bit of journaling.

Write down what the opposite of confidence is for you. Some questions you could ask yourself:

• How do I know when I am NOT confident?
• Where in my body do I feel it?
• How does confidence impact my work?
• When I’m not confident how does it influence my overall mood, energy, health?

Now, break out your crayons and draw an image that represents the opposite of confidence.

Ok, a bit of creative expression here. What does a state of low confidence look like to you? What color, texture, shape, and size is it? There are no rules here, just go with your intuition.

Strike a pose or put yourself into a position that demonstrates your brain and body when you do NOT feel confident.

Don't be shy. Imagine a time when your confidence was in the gutter. What body position best represents that? Now, how do you feel? Pretty crappy, right? Let’s fix that. (I call this Bullshift because we are shifting the B.S. in our heads!)

Now let’s do the opposite.

Do the same exercises, but tap into your confident self. Write about what confidence is to you by asking yourself the same questions, but with confidence in mind. Then, draw confidence, strike a confident pose. Become Wonder Woman or Superman!

Anchoring to your confidence.

Now you have some things to anchor your confidence to: your written definition, the drawing, and your super confident pose. Create some affirmations from your definition. Look at, and touch your drawing. Strike your pose and put everything into it!

How do you feel now? Better? Yup!

Next week I’m going to post about how to use your amazing intuitive abilities to tap into confidence. Please don’t say that you’re not intuitive, because we all are. Most people don’t know how to recognize it and therefore, don’t listen to their intuitive voice. Tune in next week to learn how! UPDATE: Here's the link to the newest intuition post!

Meanwhile, try on your confidence today. Go be amazing!

The post Business Coach Tip of the Week. Try These Fun Tricks to Tap Into Your Confidence appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

I’ll never succeed.
I don’t deserve success.
I don’t even deserve to be loved.
I’ll never be happy.
I’m not enough.
I feel like a fraud.
I can’t do this; I don’t have what it takes.

Inner B.S. thoughts like these keep too many dreams from becoming a reality.

For those who are plagued with these often crippling thoughts, they may pause at times, but they don’t go away.

They come from a place deep down inside—secrets, trauma, life experiences that tell you that you’re not good enough, smart enough, or worthy of your dreams.

This rambling recording of negativity has been with you for such a long time that it’s become a part of who you are.

You dismiss the root cause of your B.S. thoughts because, after all, you’re a logically minded adult, you should be over it by now.

But you don’t just get over it. The beliefs and physical responses to your negative life experiences are stored in your nervous system and get triggered at a subconscious level. This is a big part of the reason for your B.S. soundtrack.

Enter my Secret Weapon.

The Emotional Freedom Techniques, aka, EFT, or tapping, is a powerful method that can reprogram your thinking and release your once hostage dream of freedom. Yes, your thoughts of doubt and fear can be replaced with positive thoughts and beliefs that will support you in your entrepreneurial and life endeavors.

While I have nearly 20 years of evidence that EFT is a powerful tool, I learned something from a client this week that reminded me of the subtle energetic nuances of tapping.

A common phrase used in EFT is, “I love and accept myself anyway.” Sometimes, as I’m guiding a client through a tapping session, I’ll shorten it to, “But, I love myself anyway.” Sadly, this is not always easy for people to say.

I. Love. Myself. Anyway.

Say it out loud three times! Do you feel it? Do you believe it?

My client has transformed this single sentence into a tool of its own. During the week between our coaching sessions, she began adding, “But I love myself anyway,” to the end of every negative thought that her mind threw at her.

“I’m stuck in this awful situation, and I’ll never get out…but I love myself anyway.”

“I’m never going to get my business to the next level. I feel like giving up. But I love myself anyway.”

What a great way to diffuse negative thoughts! Love is powerful. Acknowledging her negative thoughts, rather than hatefully push them down, sends a clear message to the brain that the B.S. thinking will not win out.

What a loving way to talk back to self-talk. When you say something often enough, you learn to believe it. “But I love myself anyway,” is a beautiful thing to acknowledge.

Shift your thinking – I call it BullShift™ – by calling out the limiting thoughts that come to you and placing the focus on loving yourself instead of dwelling in the B.S. It’s pure. It’s simple. And it’s a subtle yet mighty force that will inspire you to believe in yourself.

The post But I Love Myself Anyway appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

Confidence is at the core of success. It’s natural for confidence to ebb and flow, but when an entrepreneur gets stuck in a loop of negative thinking and action, they become their own greatest block to success.

As a business coach, I often work with entrepreneurs who can’t get ahead or stall out short of their vision. Don’t worry, if you identify with these patterns you’ve just found the reason for many of your problems and you have the power to change. Focus on your self-growth by tuning into helpful podcasts, reading books on leadership and positive mindset, and consider therapy and coaching. You’ll be amazed by the rapid growth in your business once you own your worth and ability to succeed.

You may be lacking in confidence when you:

Don’t charge enough.

Price your products and services too low, and you will lose business. If raising your rates makes you nervous, then inch them up slowly. Know your worth.

Apologize for everything.

“I'm so sorry to bother you.” As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  No need to be obnoxious, but confident and assertive behavior is more likely to get you what you want.

Over-explain or justify things.

Get to the point. If the other party wants a further explanation, they will ask for it. If you over-explain things, it generally means that you don't believe in what you are offering or what you're charging.

Don't handle objections well.

If someone you consider an ideal client can't (won't) afford your offerings, it's likely because they haven't come to grips with what their problem costs them. Ask the right questions and rephrase their answers to help them see the full picture.

Don't stay the path.

Entrepreneurs who don't believe in themselves reach for ideas that don't align with their core offerings and vision. Don't get distracted; go back to your plan and take action on the goals that make sense.

Are afraid to pivot.

If there is no market for it, you can't sell it. Be open to the signs, and don't give up. Have the confidence to make changes to your product and plan if you have concrete evidence that it won't work as it is.

Overcomplicate things.

The best plans are the simple ones; you can add the intricacies as you go and only when necessary.

Fear confrontation.

If you expect a conversation to become confrontational, then it will. A confident entrepreneur will have difficult discussions because they know when something or someone is holding them back.

Believe the negative chatter in your head.

We all have a reel of negative messages in our heads, and it gets loud when we're out of our comfort zone. Ignore them. Those nagging voices are nothing more than your amygdala doing its job of trying to keep you safe from the things you fear.

Dismiss compliments.

People don't usually dish out compliments only to be kind. Add every pat on the back to your arsenal of tools that boost your confidence.

Write your achievements off as easy; anyone can do it.

Your natural abilities and the experience you have in your field can make things seem easy and uncomplicated to you. Your ideal client can't do what you do; see it from their perspective.

Won't ask for help.

Successful entrepreneurs don't do it alone. Mentors, coaches, helpful friends and family, and employees are all a part of the package that leads to success.

Can’t admit to your mistakes.

Some of the most valuable information lies within our mistakes and failures. Learn from them rather than deny them.

Won't challenge others.

Even the most brilliant people don't see the full picture every time. If your clients, or anyone else, is being short cited, politely offer another viewpoint.

Won't invest in yourself.

I've met too many entrepreneurs who lose money because they don't spend money. Software and proper tools, education and personal growth investments, marketing collateral, and employees or freelancers all have incredible value. If you believe in yourself, then plan for these investments.

Look outward for approval.

Affirmation and approval are nice but consider them the cherries on the cake. You know you're amazing; follow your inner compass.

Negate your wins.

Rather than focusing on all that remains to be done, acknowledge even the smallest increments of success. Everyone needs to see evidence that they're heading in the right direction.

Forget your passion and your why.

You're probably doing this for more than an opportunity to make money. When you keep your eye on that reason and feel the passion behind it, others will respond to it. It also recharges your batteries.

Over prepare for pitches and proposals.

The time you spend on a prospect before getting paid needs to be commensurate to the worth of the job. Know your stuff and believe in yourself instead of sending wordy, multi-page documents explaining your worth.

Accept clients who aren't a good fit.

Define your offerings and accept clients who will benefit from them. If you redefine to fit the prospect's desires, no one will be happy. Think about all of the people out there who need what you do and have faith that customers will find their way to you.

Won't delegate.

Believe that you are savvy enough to hire the right people and then let them do their jobs. You'll make mistakes, and so will they. It's all a part of your growth as an entrepreneur.

Often lose your temper or become anxious.

Understandably, you sometimes feel anxious and irritable. These are the times to focus on your breathing, the things you've achieved, and positive thoughts about the future. Intense outbursts and moods diminish your energy, creativity, and clarity.

Let failure define you.

Your idea or business didn't work out as envisioned. Perhaps smaller issues make you feel as though you've failed. Learn from your failures and mistakes and, remember, failure doesn't define you, giving up does.

Can't envision a bright and prosperous future.

What you think is important; what you believe creates your future. Send positive messages to your brain by envisioning and feeling the rewards of your hard work.

Do too many of these signs describe your behavior and emotions? Contact me today—because we can change that.

The post 24 Signs That You Lack the Confidence of an Entrepreneur appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

It was two weeks ago that I glanced out of my office window to see bursts of red and orange flames violently licking at the garage attached to my backdoor neighbor’s home. The ill-fated garage became engulfed within seconds; the fire spreading to another home in what seemed like an instant. Only a minute or two later, both homes fell to the complete mercy of the angry fire and its billowing smoke. I could feel the heat against my office window as bleak darkness filled the neighborhood.

At last, emergency vehicles arrived at the scene. The eight or nine minutes that had gone by seemed an eternity as a harsh and threatening reality slowed time and raced our thoughts. My daughter and I were immediately evacuated from the area. Our good fortune offered us about a minute to gather what we absolutely needed to remove from our home for safe-keeping. We chose our pets and purses. Ok, I will confess that I also took my MacBook Pro.

As we exited the home where I raised my children, my usually keen intuition failed me.  I did not know–couldn’t feel– if we would ever return to this place. I rolled my mental clock forward about a year and asked myself, “Is there anything else you absolutely must protect from this fire?” The answer, coming to me in calm form, was no. I’d already safely removed all that mattered.

The fire, being fed by natural gas, fought stubbornly against the giant water hoses. It was an hour before it was under control; a full hour before we were allowed back to the street where we lived. While gratitude for the safety of my home was strongly present, foremost on my mind was the impulse to go to my neighbors to offer what support I could. Standing in a small circle with the stricken families, the emotions were palpable. Intermingled amongst them were shock, fear, anger, confusion, and immense gratitude for the lives that were spared. Yes, even during these dark hours, these families could assimilate their grief enough to celebrate the joy and preciousness of life.

Flames, intense emotions, and fear. Memories and thoughts of these I am able to organize and set aside.  What fills my mind’s eye yet today is the image of first responders exiting from the scene after exhausting hours of battling vicious, life-threatening flames. Firefighters retreated through a gauntlet of impressive emergency vehicles. Locked behind distant eyes and sheltered expressions were thoughts and emotions entirely out of reach for anyone who’s never performed such acts of courage. These men had retreated within themselves to a place so deep that nothing would reach them until they were ready to emerge. Those faces and the intensity of what they secretly conveyed will never exit my memory.

While the next eight to twelve months will be immensely challenging for my neighbors, they still have what they most cherish—one another. When my own home was under threat, I too held on to what I most cherished, but I’ve gained something more: an enriched perspective on life. Those firefighters would assimilate the days’ experiences in their own way, but I’m fairly certain that their private processing would include thanks for the safety of their own loved ones. They know, more than anyone, that in the end, that’s all that matters. While we can all claim to understand that single, most important truth, I don’t believe we fully embrace it until faced with the prospect, or reality, of the most unbearable loss.

So, my friends, as you travel through the days and years ahead, fretting about things like your business and the state of your finances, return to the state of gratitude that is ours to embrace and enjoy. From this place of appreciation, only love can exist. Fear is like the angry black smoke that hid all else on that day—never give it the power to suffocate your dreams.

The post The Fire That Ignited My Heightened Perspective appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

That may sound defeatist, but grasping the reality of entrepreneurship is actually a wonderful thing; even when it generates fear and discomfort. Fear in business is mostly about facing failure and the unknown. But once you are able to embrace the fact that challenges and obstacles are inevitable you will stop struggling with the idea of them. Once you realize that failure will most certainly be a part of your journey, you will reduce the fear associated with it.  You will learn to tap into your ingenuity, resourcefulness, and strength to skillfully maneuver every roadblock. Your resistance will turn into acceptance and that, my friend, can make miracles happen!

Just a Few Simple Words Will Help

I’ve known fear, just as you probably have. And I can tell you with great certainty that as the fear surfaces, you only need to say these few simple words to regain control of your spiraling thoughts: I can handle whatever comes along; because I always have. 

Think about it. You’ve known hardship and you’re still here today. You’ve probably experienced heartbreak, but your heart is still intact and beating. As soon as you turn your thoughts to faith and confidence, the fear-monster will back down. Think of fear as a bully; bullies back down when they no longer see their prey as weak and helpless. Fear is much the same.

You Are Not Alone

I’ve interviewed and studied some of the most successful entrepreneurs on the planet. And you know what? Every one of them will admit to feeling fear. Every one of them has learned to see failure as playground for innovation—a classroom for learning.

Embrace your fear of failure as a normal and natural reaction to the unknown. Once you fully realize that everyone experiences these feelings at some point in the entrepreneurial journey, you’ll gain confidence and move forward more boldly!

“It's not until the entrepreneur possesses clarity and confidence that a business will thrive.”
-Marla Tabaka

A good business coach not only works with you on your business, but on your mindset as well. Contact me for a complimentary consultation to explore how I may be able to help you grow your mindset and your business!  

The post How to Manage the Small Business Owner’s Fear of Failure appeared first on Marla Tabaka.