Is fear driving your career?

I want to talk about how many people, including me sometimes, let fear drive their actions and their future. As an entrepreneur, I make choices that would make many people fearful on a daily basis.

Times when I do have fear driving my actions.

July and August were particularly tough this year. They were months with little revenue even though July was still very busy since June and the prior months of 2019 had been robust with new clients and big projects. I get scared when I face a pack of bills without the confidence that business will come to fill my needs.

I decided to count appointments in August and share my results on Facebook:

So August has been relatively slow for my business compared to most months in the last couple of years. In fact, some days it almost felt like I was on vacation – except I don’t take vacations. (the last one was in 1995) I really do love my work so it isn’t really work with so many amazing clients anyway.

But just for fun, I decided to count my client appointments.

For those that don’t know my resume writing and career marketing process is all live and interactive with my clients so I meet personally with them until we deliver the items they need to be successful.

One of my friends from my whitewater days answered my post with this wise advice:

The challenge of any entrepreneur is to not buy into the stress of “busy” then become encumbered by the fear of “slow”. Enjoy each season as it comes, do your best and embrace the quieter times as an opportunity to take rest.

This friend is now a realtor who came from a financial management background. He disrupted his career in Chicago and moved to Colorado. He understands the challenges of entrepreneurship seasons.

Is fear driving your choices?

Many job seekers are terrified of making any move. I don’t regret being an entrepreneur. I hope to keep developing a better safety net for the times that business does ebb. We’ve been entrepreneurial most of our married lives, especially after 1987 when I experienced my only job loss.

It may seem silly but when I lost that job, I didn’t want to trust a business or employer with my future ever again. However, I admit that I still didn’t trust God with my future either. I panicked whenever things went soft and that resulted in borrowing to cover bills, taxes, and other expenses, increasing debt and making the good times hard.

It has been incredibly hard but I determined this year to put my trust for my finances in God’s hands. We almost scrapped the bottom of the barrel in August but I reached out for more prayer and amazingly, two unexpected checks came in the mail for family land sales. It wasn’t new clients but it was more than enough to pay off the impending bills,  put some money in savings, and even lower some of the debt I had incurred in the past.

I know our nation and the world has run away from God.

I also know God answers prayer with yes, no, or wait. I’ve had my share of no and wait in my life. In this case, I had an outstanding answer that gave me hope to move forward.

While you are wondering if you are meant to make a career move or just be prepared, plan ahead to create a safety net in your savings account and decrease your debt. None of us can be sure of a future whether we work for ourselves or someone else. Life surprises us with challenges around every corner.

I work with professionals to help them prepare for future career changes. Learn more.

Photo Credit: Simon Migaj