In just over a week’s time it’s Halloween.

Woooooo!

Although, like many people this year, you might think there’s MORE than enough frightening stuff going on in the world already.

To be honest, I only bother for the sake of my daughter, who adores it (she loves everything about winter. It’s her favourite time of year!)

Though I think this year we’ll give trick or treating a miss for obvious reasons.

But with the spooky season in full swing, I started thinking about YOU – and why it could be useful for you to have a scare, if you want to reach your goals.

You see, most people don’t really want to be scared.

A few jumps in a horror film… maybe a “Boo” from a kid in a skull mask…

They’re okay because they’re fictions – the “fun” kind of scary.

In real life though, we tend to do everything we can to avoid fear.

It’s hard-wired into our evolutionary circuits.

However, there are times when we NEED to be a little scared – and for real, too.

Because sometimes it’s impossible to achieve a truly worthwhile goal unless you push yourself to do something that intimidates you…

Let me give you an example…

Why I needed to frighten myself into doing this

As you might know, I’ve been in business for some time now.

Over time I’ve developed a pretty bulletproof method of marketing which I know works consistently.

And I share it with students of my Course Creation Academy.

But if you want to keep growing as an entrepreneur, you can’t just find one formula and stick to it forever.

There are always new things to try… breakthroughs to be had…

I feel it’s my duty to test new approaches, ideas, and methods, not only for my own success but so that I can share them with my students in order for them to get more clients and sales.

So that’s what I did recently.

I ran a special 5 Day Course Creation Challenge (and hello to my lovely challenge takers that may be reading this right now), in which I released a series of daily videos on Facebook, issuing challenges aimed at helping people get over some of the major roadblocks in starting their own online course.

Not only did it require daily videos, but also Facebook Live sessions every day where I had to run a live presentation and answer questions in real time.

Now, this is a fantastic way to find an audience, give away valuable information that helps them and of course, attract new customers.

But I’ll be honest.

I was a little scared.

For many years I’ve run my publishing company in the background, out of the limelight.

I am naturally a very shy person and I fear public speaking.

Which is why I’ve also shied away from live interactive events on social media.

So this new Facebook Live method required me to be more than a little bit brave.

I needed to overcome my natural “RUN AWAY” instinct and instead step up to the plate.

As it turned out, the challenge was a huge success.

It helped a lot of incredible women take some big steps towards creating their first course, and I got some great feedback from it.

In fact, here are just some of their comments:

Can you imagine how wonderful it felt reading that feedback?

I wouldn’t have achieved any of this if I’d gone with my gut instinct to stay safe.

After all, it’s much easier to stick with what you know.

But my advice is to NOT follow those primal instincts.

Instead, be willing to do something that scares you – not just over Halloween, but in your life.

It’ll be worth it.

However, before you go bungee jumping, wrestle a crocodile or decide to join a circus… a few words of advice.

It’s all about BALANCE

Pursuing fear for fear’s sake, and getting yourself in a state over it, is not the point.

There is a balance to be struck here…

For instance, while I’m prepared to go on camera and do live events, I wouldn’t necessarily then make myself do that all the time.

After all, why be in a business where you constantly do something that you don’t enjoy?

If I loved live events, then yes, I’d probably do tonnes of them every year.

And if I was the kind of person who loved using social media for work and pleasure, I’d be on it all the time, using it as one of my main methods of communication.

But I’m not that person.

So it’s not a big goal for my business to do that.

Neither will you ever need to suffer on a regular basis doing things that make you uncomfortable and scared.

If you create your own product – like a course – it can be up to you what style you use, and what platforms work best for your personality.

But…

I think we often get the most satisfaction from trying things outside our comfort zone from time to time – especially when they get results!

This allows us to find out what we’re capable of…

And it keeps us moving forward, developing our business skills and knowledge.

So if you DO decide to try a new challenge that is scary, here are some lessons I learned:

4 tips for facing a scary challenge

Don’t go in without preparation. Before I set up my 5 Day Challenge, I took a full course on running challenges from someone who’s done it successfully numerous times.

Equally – don’t spend too long on preparation! It’s tempting to stay in that safe “preparation zone” to avoid any fear. So you need to set yourself a launch date and go for it.

If you can afford it, get help. If you are trying something for the first time, then find someone to support you through it. For instance, I had a fantastic lady, Taryn, helping run the challenge Facebook group for me, which meant I could concentrate on running the live chats and challenges while she looked after the admin. If you don’t have the budget for help then maybe ask a friend or family member.
Just do it… what do you have to lose? Sometimes you’ve just got to take a deep breath, then jump without overthinking it. Always remember that the worst outcome will be that it doesn’t succeed. Nothing bad will happen to you!

So what next…?

Well, I recommend that you write a list of 5 things that you know you ‘should’ be doing towards a business goal (maybe creating a course!)… but have put off because they intimidate you.

Choose one.

Set a date.

Then DO IT!

You never know where it will take you.

And of course, if you are ready to start creating your own online course just email me back so I can let you know when spaces become available on my training.