ForumsStarting a Business

It appears that everyone who responded in this thread so far makes his/her living as a business consultant, and having re-read all the posts, I don't see any suggestion of "diving in with your head up your you-know-what."

The major dimensions of the model around which many of us develop business management proficiency are Competence (consisting of key components like knowledge, skill, experience, and judgment) and Commitment (consisting of the key components like confidence, motivation, and persistence). No one here said that confidence is all that matters, or that none of the other components were important. Of course those other elements are of major importance.

AutismSmile specifically asked about anxiety, an element of the confidence component -- and while becoming more competent can help increase one's confidence, I've taught people (from combat soldiers to corporate executives) who were the best in the world at what they did and were highly motivated to do it -- but still felt anxious at times. In my view, that's not a weakness or lack of anything -- it's a normal built-in human "warning system" that needs to be tested and reset periodically so we can learn when to really pay attention to it. It's about us managing our emotions, rather than our emotions managing us (and ultimately our business outcomes).

Yes, if you're jumping out of an airplane, you'd best have a parachute and know how to use it. But you can still have a parachute, know how to use it, and feel anxious when it's time to step out of the hatch. Handling that anxiety is an altogether different challenge (requiring a different approach) than learning to pack the 'chute, put it on, and pull the cord.

Again, best wishes.