How to Kick Fear in the Face... Hardcore

Being in biz has been a lot about kicking fear in the face for me.

When I started Central Soapers Workshop, my social anxiety was so bad that I avoided phone calls with vendors, speakers, and attendees. The night before CSW 2013, I couldn't sleep because I was terrified of having to face 50 other strangers soapmakers the next day at an event *I* was hosting. And the second day of CSW 2013? I had to face my fear of public speaking to give a presentation on masterbatching.

I'm still afraid of public speaking, but I've had a little practice and I've gotten better. This year, the next fear to tackle was recording myself speaking on video. See, a video is like speaking at events, except in my head, the audience is the whole world. Which makes it a little more frightening. Okay, a lot more frightening. Plus, I'm super self-conscious about my appearance. It's part of the reason I went to cosmetology school and never pursued a career as a makeup artist or stylist.

For Get Busy Blogging for Beauty Biz Owners, I was presented with the opportunity to face the fear of video and kick it in the face. So I did. My husband stood by my side for what was probably thirty (or more) attempts on getting a two-minute video. The end result isn't perfect, (I could name hundreds of things wrong with it). BUT I did it. That's what matters, right?

So, how have I been kicking fear in the face left and right? Let's talk about it.

I've realized you just need to trust yourself. We've all been in sticky situations, and we survived.

My husband always says, "What's the worst that can happen?" And I have to ask myself that when I start letting fear take over, to remind myself that public speaking or recording a video isn't going to kill me. The worst thing that could happen is maybe I'll look silly, maybe I'll feel self-conscious, or maybe I'll mess up or fudge some words. It happens, but it's not going to kill me.

I have this distressed wooden sign in my kitchen, to remind myself every morning that worrying about little things isn't going to do me any good. Public speaking or recording a video? Worrying about it is going to make it harder, not easier.

I learned to take little steps to kicking my fears down. First, I forced myself on the phone to talk to strangers vendors and sponsors. And then I spoke to a little room of twenty people. After that, came a room of thirty-five people or so. And then a little two-minute video.

Taking a step in the right direction is still exerting effort. Which gets you further than not doing anything!

And when I was messing up? I laughed. A lot. Failure happens to everyone. EVERYONE. If I was failing, it wasn't a stop sign. It wasn't someone telling me I couldn't do this. It was a sign to keep going.

Learning to laugh in the face of fear is one of the most empowering things I can recommend. So, sure, I had to dig through a few hours of absolute silliness and laughter to put together a two-minute video for Get Busy Blogging. And I might have spent a grand total of about ten hours on this two-minute video. In the end, what matters is that I did it.

And to put the nail in the coffin so to speak, I'm going to share the outtakes.

Yes, I trimmed down all the bloopers, laughter, and insanity that is my husband and I working together for your pleasure. Because this is me, this is who I am, and I'm not afraid of sharing that with you.

(Okay, I am a bit, but fear, meet the bottom of my shoe, k?) 

You might have to adjust your volume, I didn't edit this footage at all except to clip it together.

That wasn't so bad, right? 

What fears do you need to kick in the face? Let's do it. I'll be right by your side (in spirit) to cheer  you on.

Leave a comment and tell me about one of your fears, I bet there are plenty of other peeps who share it with you. :)