I talked to Tim Grizzle today on The Ms. CEO Show about what entrepreneurs and small businesses should be doing to survive, and perhaps thrive, during this economic downturn.
Mr. Grizzle is a CFP, CPA and MBA and has been a financial advisor and business owner for two decades serving clients who have net worths of anywhere from $2 million to $20 million. He’s also an author—he’ll be releasing a book in March 2009 that will tell the stories of those who have come out on top and on bottom during economic crises. Mr. Grizzle has lived and prospered through four of these busted bubbles.
But of everything Mr. Grizzle shared today, his definition of fear stuck out to me the most.
Fear, anxiety, downtroddeness and depression is gripping, or beginning to grip, more than a few people. As an entrepreneur, that’s an emotional state that just won’t work.
I’ve heard fear defined as an acronym: False Evidence Appearing Real. And I’ve heard fear defined as the thing that makes you wet your pants! I even know the formal definition: A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, or loss—whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
Real or imagined in the formal definition is food for thought.
But get a load of Mr. Grizzle’s definition: Fear is nothing more than respect for the project (or action) you’re about to undertake. Wow! That’s one way I’ve never heard fear defined and it’s quite apropros for these times.
Think about it: Respect causes you to pay attention. Act with careful urgency. Anticipate the next need or demand. Basically, those are all the actions we should be taking in business today. I always proudly claim to be courageous; feeling fear and moving forward anyway. I’m usually quick to kick fear in the face. But with this new definition and a new found appreciation and respect for fear, well, I’ll still be moving forward courageously—but I might take just a little more time to stare fear in the face!
Be Encouraged,
Felicia Joy
A Business Woman’s Best Friend
P.S. If you missed the show, check it out on the player to your right (Bump the Slump!) and check out the blog tomorrow. We’ll be featuring our first “Ms.CEO of the Week”. None other than the fabulous Kaira Akita—actor extraordinaire and CEO of A Clothes Encounter, the new way to shop!
