This Is How You Conquer The F-word

As you may have guessed, the F-word being discussed here is FEAR.

You see, I hear from beginner investors all the time who say:

“I’m having trouble getting up the courage to talk to sellers, real estate agents and buyers. I’ve taken courses and watched videos. I know how everything works. I’m just too scared to take the first step. What do I do?”

Hey Moguls, it’s Steph Davis here, and I assure you that this is a valid concern that I hear on a regular basis.

The best thing I can say to you is, you’re not alone. You can take comfort in knowing this is not just you.

Most everyone is nervous when first starting out. It’s new territory; it’s something you’ve never done before; it’s outside your comfort zone. The fact is, getting over fear is not something that can be learned from a course or a video.

“I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” ~Rosa Parks

When I First Started

Let me tell you that when I first started, I was absolutely terrified of talking to people. I remember the first appointment I went on to meet a seller...

I drove to their house and parked my car up the street from their house. I sat there in my car thinking to myself, “There’s no way I can do this. I can’t go in there. I’m going to make a fool out of myself.”

It took a while, but I finally forced myself to go into that house and fulfill the appointment. It went okay. The next one was a little easier. The one after that was even easier and it went on from there.

You do finally get to the place where you aren’t as afraid.

“Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins.”
~Charles Stanley

Force Yourself

For most of us, however, the fear never totally goes away. You have to force yourself to do the thing you’re afraid of.

pumpkin You have to just do it.

Yes, you’re going to be scared and uncomfortable at first, but the fact is, after you act despite the fear, you begin to build up confidence.

When I was first getting started, the thing I was most afraid of was making phone calls to sellers. Here’s how I pushed through that fear...

Every Saturday, I sat down at my desk, I pulled up Craigslist on my computer, and scrolled to the ‘Houses for Sale’ section. For one whole hour, I called every single seller and asked them questions about their property. This gave me practice talking on the phone.

I didn’t like doing it, but I forced myself. The more I did this, the more comfortable I became.

Pick one thing that you’re afraid of doing and force yourself to do it. I promise you that the confidence you gain from doing this will pay off bigtime.

“Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh