entrepreneurs block?

[BrettStapper]

does anyone else ever have this? several times i have been in the position to turn a business idea into the real thing or bring in more profits to my current business but, it seems like i have a block that will not allow me to proceed and eventually i miss the opportunity. it is as if i am scared to make money almost.

any advice on how to overcome this?

thanks

[watsa]

I think most experienced entrepreneurs can relate to this, but I don't think you're afraid of making money -- I think you're probably afraid of failing. There is always risk involved in turning an idea into a product or service since you most often have to invest time and money before knowing how much money the product will generate. By not taking action you make it impossible to fail.

Media entrepreneur Felix Dennis talks about fear of failure quite often in his books and interviews and says that entrepreneurs will face this fear their entire lives, but they can learn how to control it.

How can you get over it? When I have an idea I usually create a list of steps I need to take to make it into product that I can sell. Then I simply go through the checklist one step at a time. By focusing on completing the small steps, before you know it you will have reached your goal.

[ucavik]

well many of us experience this block. i think a good idea would be to consult a friend or some body with greater experience.

[InformationEmpire]

Sometimes people fear success too... it sounds strange, but subconsciously they self-sabotage their success because deep down they fear how their life will change if they make a lot of money (my friends may not like me anymore, people will be jealous, I'll have too much accounting to do, etc!)

The human mind is a very weird and wonderful thing, which can often work against us!

[daveb1]

maybe its something more than that. find out what bothers you when you make another plunge or try to scale greater heights? i think its not a block per se. a block means you just cant think of more ideas and ways to proceed

[RyanCassidy]

I feel this all the time. But when it comes to the grind, just buck up and go and do it. It's more of a gut feeling; feeling as if your doing something wrong when infact your not.

[daveb1]

could you elaborate on "feeling as if youre doing something wrong when in fact youre not" lol.

[RyanCassidy]

Well, really its more of risk analysis. You feel as if your putting yourself into a bad situation.

[daveb1]

oh i see. anyway to that poster's comment on the fear of success, i guess its pretty true too. GoDaddy CEO has outlined his ways to overcome shyness. That in his opinion is one of the most important thing to overcome to achieve success.

[youngandopulent]

does anyone else ever have this? several times i have been in the position to turn a business idea into the real thing or bring in more profits to my current business but, it seems like i have a block that will not allow me to proceed and eventually i miss the opportunity. it is as if i am scared to make money almost.

any advice on how to overcome this?

thanks

I definitely understand where you're coming from. I think the others have gave some great advice on what it may be. One thing I would recommend is actual self programming via hypnosis or meditation. Visualization really helps me to get past mental blocks like this. I sit for long periods of time and visualize myself doing the thing that the blockage is keeping me back from doing. It really works for me, but I know its a subjective excercise.

I think you have to be more detailed about what it is that's happening to you though. Maybe elaborate on: what point do you get this feeling? In what situation did it occur last time in more detail, etc.

[Gary Barzel]

Entrepreneurs block can be just as real as writers block. An entrepreneurs block usually occurs when there's a combination of fear and doubt that prevents you from turning your ideas into reality. What you need to do is get out of your mindset that your ideas will fail, and instead picture the success it will have when you implement it. Keep in mind that there is a chance that your idea may fail however know that it will surely be a failure if you don't give it a chance to make it happen. All to often people have ideas that they are afraid to push, and then they read about somebody using their very own idea and it becoming a success. Don't let that happen, push yourself and know that you can only give it your best. Also you can try a change of scenery, a lot of times when we are out of our natural surroundings it helps us focus more on our work.

[TechHawkz]

At the end of the daye you just need to relax and let the thoughts flow. I've experienced this a few times before and the way I've got over this is by simply putting it out of my mind for a few days and concetrating on something else and then one day out of nowhere I will have a "eureka" moment where ideas come flooding into me and I'll be scribbling away all this ideas onto a pad thinking why this didn't happen before and quite simply it was because I was thinking too hard and thinking of an idea, whihc is very stressful.

Just relax for a few days, do some other things - I find working out very helpful as it clears my mind, gets the juices flowing and puts you in a happy mood which can help you become more realxed and let your mind flow freely.

[freelancebiz]

My guess is that you're afraid to fail right when you need to make a crucial decision.

Make sure that you have done your research and jump into the business when you know it's the best idea. There's a phrase I used when I first started out - Jump and the net will appear. Sometimes, you have to take risks. When you've done your research, you will have the best possible chance of success. And you're guaranteed to fail when you don't try at all.