How to do something that scares you

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Just do it.

That’s it. That’s the advice summed up in three words. Just. Do it.

For the past year I’ve been wanting to start an LLC for my writing, book, and other consulting dreams, and for the past year I did just about everything I could do except starting an LLC. I met with lawyer friends to ask their advice, I googled “how to start an LLC”, I posted on Facebook asking for help, I wrote a Sunday Starter about starting an LLC; I did everything except go to the website and fill out the form. 

Far too often, when we aim to accomplish something that scares us, we do just about everything other than the thing we want to do. Some of it is justified; starting your own business the wrong way could have legal implications. That said, if we truly ask ourselves why we haven’t done it yet, it is because there is some unknown at the start line and the only way to know it is to just do it. Unfortunately, most people will let that fear of the unknown keep them from ever doing what they want to do because that first step is the hardest part.

Most people will want somebody to hold their hand through the start line which is why most people will never do what they want to do because finding someone to hold their hand is not easy or always available. So as someone who has sat just before that unknown many times, the only advice I can truly give to getting over that fear is to just do it. Sit down, take out the laptop, go to the government website and figure it out.

The ability to just do it is the difference between good and great, great and exceptional, exceptional and a legend. I call out all those levels because it’s not something you do once, it’s something you’ll need to do over and over because at every new challenge will come a new unknown that you need to conquer. When that happens, when you find yourself delaying something, it’s best to just call it out.

I’m avoiding this because it’s hard.

It’s hard and so I may do it wrong. 

But if I do it wrong I’ll just do it again until it’s right.

 Don’t delay it. Just do it.