Hiking is a lot like being an entrepreneur…
Have you ever been stuck on a ladder — literally or proverbially? One time sticks out in my memory. I was, at the trailhead of the West Coast Trail staring up at a 4-story ladder. The West Coast Trail is this EPIC 7 day wilderness hike in Canada that has about 70 ladders along the way, and this first one was a doozy.
I was both excited and nervous as hell.
Looking at this ladder, I wasn’t sure if I could do it, let alone with a pack on my back!
But if I wanted to get on the trail, I had to climb.
And then, I could see if I really had what it took to complete the challenging hike.
This trek is a bit like being an entrepreneur, you don’t know if you’ll succeed but the only way to know is to take that next step, as shaky as it feels.
Back to the ladder. I lost confidence halfway up, my legs were shaking and I hung onto that ladder for dear life, let me tell you.
I was paralyzed!
I couldn’t go down because there was nothing there for me.
I felt like I couldn’t go up because I don’t trust my legs to carry me.
Have you ever felt like this in your business?
When you get started, you’re ready to tackle the challenges ahead. Then the doubt creeps in. And, the fear. But you’ve committed! You set out for the journey and you told yourself you’d stick it through. Right?
If only you could make a move, up or down. No matter how stuck you are, you know you can’t stay there forever.
What comes next?
You just have to go for it. You have to decide that what you want is worth facing your fears and doubt.
The desire to succeed is greater than the risk of failing.
Which is exactly the revelation I had on that ladder. My partner and perfect strangers (who later became my hiking posse) helped encourage me and I did eventually make it to the top. I even made it to the end of the trail bruised, bloody, muddy… and with memories of the most spectacular hike I’d ever done.
All of this because I reached for one rung at a time on that ladder at the start.
Have you ever felt stuck in your entrepreneurial journey? Or perhaps a better question is:
What’s your ladder?
What’s the one thing that you face in your business and wonder if you can do it? You felt so excited when you first came up with this goal or idea but suddenly you’re stuck on a rung on that ladder, not sure how to keep moving.
Is your ladder putting yourself out there in video? And, are you feeling stuck?
Or, is it building a proper funnel, or getting on camera to share your message? Let me know!
After all, I know the biggest part of what got me going is knowing that others felt like me but were able to push through the fear and get to the top.
You CAN do this, and when you feel like you can’t — remember we’ve all gotten stuck on a ladder before.
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