RS020: Paralyzing Fear and Your Inner Chimp

Welcome to Episode 20 of the Rogue Startups Podcast.  This is a hallmark episode as the vast majority of podcasts don’t ever make it to 20 episodes.  And we’re still going strong!

This week Dave and I sit down to talk about a topic that will probably hit home with every entrepreneur and founder out there:  Paralyzing Fear and your Inner Chimp.  This is no joke.  The fear of failure, fear of success, fear of just committing and doing anything as best as you possibly can is a huge emotional jump for people to take.  Especially when there is no backdrop like a corporate job often times provides.

In this episode we talk through all of the aspects of that fear, how your “Inner Chimp” is always in the background nagging you and introducing doubt, uncertainty, and distraction to you as you’re starting up.  From there we deal with practical ways that you can manage this stress, quiet the inner chimp, and stay productive in the face of all of this uncertainty.

To Summarize:

• Our monkey mind is our primary enemy as a founder
• Detail the consequences to see it’s not that bad
• Create a list of tasks for the next day so you’re organized before you walk in
• When you have worrying thoughts, focus on an action to distract your monkey mind
• Fight the urge to check things constantly (phone, text, email) by having focused periods (Focus at Will and Pomodoro Technique)
• Wield the Power of No to stop creating unnecessary tasks
• Get accountable to someone or something to maintain motivation.  Mastersminds are a great way to achieve this, and MastermindJam is the place to go for solving that need.

Lastly, Dave and I share what our biggest memories of recent past were of facing this chimp and the fear that starting up has brought to our lives, and how we dealt with it successfully.  And we want to hear your story too.   What is the time in the last few months when you’ve dealt with a really difficult situation, quieted your “inner chimp”, and stayed positive and productive in your business?  Leave a note in the comments section below and we’ll mention your story (if you’d like, of course) on the show next week.

Enjoy the show this week? Leave us a five-star review on iTunes and tell us why you love our podcast. If not, send us feedback via Twitter  @RogueStartups or leave us an email at  podcast@roguestartups.com. We look forward to hearing from you.