When I started out as a coach, I was freaked out about looking like an idiot or fool when I did talks or working with people. I felt like I had to have all the answers when I got on the phone with someone or doing a presentation in front of a group and dreaded being caught with my pants down (metaphorically speaking).

Years ago, I did a presentation in Florida for a group of graduates who had just finished a vocational program on how to start a coaching practice / business. They wanted to know how to have the right business structure, whether or not to start from their home or rent an office, how to work with people, what to put on Instagram, Facebook, etc. . .yet - no one was asking about the most important thing of all which was - what to say in a conversation with someone so they become a paying client (which is a really uncomfortable conversation to have and brings up all sorts of things for people).

One of the biggest things to go through especially in the beginning of starting a business (including a coaching practice) is going through the fear of failure / the fear of looking like a loser or fool . . .the natural tendency is to organize one's whole life around NOT having to go through / avoiding this set of feelings / emotions - and instead - distracting oneself, trying to be more prepared, taking more and more courses, trying to "heal" oneself more, having to have the "perfect" website / Facebook profile / Instagram profile before starting, procrastinating and avoiding starting - instead of just getting out and talking to people face to face asking or on the phone if they need help with something and making a ton of mistakes, looking like a complete idiot and fool, potentially offending someone, feeling like a loser and not having it altogether, etc etc.

The big fears and concerns I had when starting was thinking "why would someone want to listen to me? What do I have to offer? What will people think of me? Will they think I'm a loser or fool? Will they think I don't have it together, etc. So I did what so many else did . . .procrastinate, try to get the "right" website, etc etc.

This fear also drove me to think - I need more courses / more certifications / more qualifications / more practice, I need a better website, more material to give me more credibility, wanting to know what to say in all different circumstances . . .

I also think it's the same fear that has people want to "look good", like they have their life all together / like they have all the answers, worried about being liked, etc.

Yet, the funny thing is - I believe there's a very specific reason the Universe puts someone in certain positions - and the design is specifically for someone to have all the feelings and emotions they don't want to feel at all costs - and that "having the feelings / emotions" they don't want to feel - is the actual lesson to learn at the end of the day . . .we like to think it's the money, etc - but consider perhaps the way way bigger prize is "processing out" the fear, anger so someone is way more freed up to take risks in life from there on out - and not really care whether or not they look like a loser / failure / fool in the process.

Also consider - if someone tries to avoid having these feelings / organizing one's life around not having them - what we resist persists - thus - invariably we'll keep on having other situations continue come up until we learn to go . For example, in the beginning I was terrified to pick up the phone and call people to do work or business with. I distracted myself constantly from this so I wouldn't have to go through the things I dreaded. I started businesses which failed. . .I would go back to working in a job, leave the job, start another business - run up against the exact same wall again. . . the Universe kept on throwing me into the exact same situation until I surrendered to going through it and whatever it brought up in me. . . It ended up taking me 5 or 6 attempts at this failing, going back to jobs until I surrendered to hanging and feeling the fear to be comfortable having scary conversations with people, asking if they needed help, being ok with looking like a loser / failure or being attached to them saying "yes" - before I was able to have a full-time financially sustainable coaching practice.

The reason why people often say that the fastest way to start a business is by doing a lot of public speaking, getting out and talking to people one-on-one on the phone or in person has a lot more to do with that it drives up the emotions / feelings people don't want to have much faster than if they were trying to build an email marketing / Facebook / Instagram Marketing campaign. . . and it's the "having the tough emotions / feelings" that actually produces the biggest results.

I have no idea if this is something people here really wants to hear. . .I don't know - I think it's a HUGE opportunity on the other hand . . .to throw oneself into the fire and bring these things up - for those who have the ears to hear it.