How I deal with fear.

How to deal will fear as a Restaurateur/Entrepreneur Having fear is normal. Don’t beat yourself up for that.  I have faced fear many times throughout my business journey. It is an annoying feeling that you can’t get away from. For me, the only way to deal with it, is to welcome it. I know it sounds funny, but let me explain. There are 2 main parts to deal with when facing fear - internally (yourself) and externally (the fact). Internally

Not enough confidence can cause fear.

My mentor Brian Cha told me to believe that "I am unique".

No one can point fingers at me. I don't need anyone's permission to do anything.

I should believe in the power of action more than fear. Fear will only grow inside me if I focus on it.

Brian Cha made me understand that, it is possible to get used to fear.

The more you face it, the more you will grow. Just like a diamond, once you apply enough pressure at a certain level, you are ready to move on to the next level.  Your business should not stay in the comfort zone. If your business is running comfortably, it can be very dangerous. If there is no challenge and no change, it means no improvement.  It is not easy to step out of the comfort zone. Train yourself mentally. It takes practice. Turn your fears into action. Externally

Not enough information can cause fear. One of my professors in the Oxford Uni Business School said: "One of the qualities of being a leader is to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” This is because in the business world the 'unknown' will lead you to fear. There are 5 ways to make situations clearer/more transparent to you, so you become less fearful: 1.     Learn - Learn more about the unknown. The more you understand it, the more fearless you will get. 2.     Prepare - Prepare for the worse to happen, whether financially or technically. 3.     Validate - List out all the pros and cons of the situation.

You will have a clearer understanding on how to solve the problem you fear. 4.     Challenge - Talk to people about what you are worried about. They can help challenge your feelings or even provide you with a solution. 5.     Outsource - Consider outsourcing your problems to the right person if you have trouble dealing with it internally. I believe fear is why we are still on earth. If our ancestors did not have any fears, they would not have survived all the dangerous situations they were in.  Why did our ancestors build fences around their homes? They wanted to protect themselves. All of us have a safety mechanism; it is our response to protect ourselves from harm. It is easier and safer to stay in our comfort zone. Ironically, however, it can be the opposite in the business world. To survive, you must keep moving forward. You can see this from many big companies around the world - Blockbuster LLC, Kodak, Nokia, and so on..

Kodak was one of the Top 100 companies in the world in the 80's. They invented the Digital Camera. However as time went on, they were too afraid to change their business structure/model. 80% of Kodak's income was from photographic film printing. They refused to go forward with the digital transition.

And so, ended up losing more than they thought.

We all know change is hard. But if we can learn more so that the 'unknown' becomes the 'known', we will be less fearful when making such decisions.

Do not allow fear to keep growing inside you.  Next time when you are in fear of something, use those points above to help you move forward.  Observe it. Face it. Turn it into power. Your friend Wing Chang