I launched a second business in 2020, and I hadn’t planned on doing it, but destiny had a different idea. Taking a leap and doing something new is a bit of an obsession of mine. Moving to Taiwan at the age of 22. Publishing my first book a week before pushing out my first child. Starting my public relations agency at 33. These were ventures that I planned, strategized, obsessed over, and then launched into fruition, catapulting myself into a new chapter of unknowns. Was I scared? Hell yeah. But it didn’t stop me. It lit a fire in me.
Some might say this all sounds awful, ha!
It is my fear of not accomplishing something that makes me so tenacious when following through with my goals.
I know most people are fearful when they are about to embark on something new; it is natural. I honestly try not to think about my apprehension because I don’t want it to paralyze me. I acknowledge it and carry on. I focus on the task and charge ahead. Perhaps experiencing trauma as a child and now facing my (good and bad) coping mechanisms head-on through therapy, writing, meditation, and other methods, enable me to attain the level of success that I dream of each day.
While chatting with a best friend of mine about my new production company, Starfury, I told her that when I said what I was doing out loud, it sounded pretty insane. She replied, “It sounds like a mix of terror and excitement,” and she was exactly right. That was how I felt, and hadn’t realized it until just then, when I paused to reflect. Yes, launching a new venture has always incited terror and excitement all at once—and those feelings are what have driven me to this day. Fear can be a great tool.
Here are tips on how you can move from vision to action, and perhaps they will help as you plan for 2021:
Keep daydreaming: I was often ridiculed for my “head in the clouds” personality by teachers and peers, but I never let it stop me from daydreaming.
I even record my dreams, which helps me harness my creativity and analyze the emotions and fears I often repress during the day.
My vision quests remind me of what could be. They have enabled me to build my public relations and marketing business, and most recently, create a production company for up-and-coming TV and film content creators called Starfury.
Feel the emotion, let it go: When I get overwhelmed about attaining a goal or if fear creeps in, I acknowledge the emotion and then let it go. The emotion doesn’t need to stop me from pushing forward. To help me do this, I break down the steps needed to achieve my vision. Sometimes I do it mentally, or I’ll write them down, and then I figure out if I need to ask someone for help. Often to get to that next step, you need advice or support from a peer, friend, or hired professional, which can make that fear disappear because now you aren’t “doing it alone.” It’s okay to admit you can’t do this on your own. What are the 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month plan?
Be mindful of the journey: A fellow scriptwriter friend told me, “It’s about the journey, not the end goal.”
Sometimes, your end goal makes you blind to the present opportunities that are already available to you. Sometimes, it takes longer than desired to attain big goals.
The winding road ahead of you might seem hard, endless, scary, and it should. Feel it, embrace it, and learn where the fear is coming from, and then take control so you can move it aside to accomplish the next step confidently.
WRITTEN BY
Nubia DuVall Wilson