How To Overcome Fear and Just Get Started

I’ve often wondered why more people don’t jump into web design freelancing or any freelancing at all for that matter! This time in history is arguably the easiest it has ever been to make money. 

Never before have you been able to learn whatever you want from anywhere you want. Never before have you been able to connect to people on the other side of the country or heck even the other side of the world. 

A friend who is a much better developer than me works as a full stack developer at a huge global organization. I asked him if he went to college to learn. His response? “Nope, I just watched a bunch of youtube tutorials.”

Really? “Yep.” Was there a special system you had? “Nope! Whatever topic I wanted to learn, I just typed that into the youtube search bar and hunkered down until I got it.”

Now, he’s at a great job making 6 figures as a developer.

Honestly, that’s been my experience as well. It was so easy I sometimes feel like I cheated the system.

I grew up believing there was this line we were all supposed to stand in to find success, but I somehow got to cut to the front when I started web design.

I was sitting across from a friend of mine the other day. He knows more than I did when I first got started. He has HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and a few other development languages under his belt. He knows the ins and outs of photoshop and has an eye for design. Yet, with all that knowledge he still isn’t using those skills to make money. 

So, my question to him was, “WHY AREN’T YOU DOING ANYTHING WITH THE KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE!?!”

His response, “I’m afraid I’ll mess something up… Or I won’t be able to do a good job with a project.”

I get that. I honestly do. There were times when I first started that I was absolutely horrified. There were times when I had trouble sleeping wondering whether I’d be able to deliver what I had promised to my client. 

Here is a secret: I still get anxiety.

Here is another secret: I know a lot of developers who are way better than I am who share those same fears. 

The ones who become successful at this are not the ones with the most knowledge. They aren’t the ones who look at the tasks they get and scoff because they know they’ll be able to knock them out of the park. No. The ones who succeed are the ones who despite all the fear and doubt they have…they go for it.

I had solid weeks with shortness of breath because of how anxious I was about a project. But despite all that, I didn’t give up. To be honest, I didn’t feel like I had a choice. There were 3 little miniature versions of myself depending on me to figure things out. I was going to win or I was going to go down swinging.

You will never not be afraid. You will never feel like you know everything you need to know. There is this really common thing called the imposter syndrome we all face. Like…if my clients really figured out how little I actually know they wouldn’t pay me as much OR they might drop me all together. It’s normal.

But you have to ignore it. You have to KEEP GOING for you, for your family and the people that will come after you. It will be tough. You will likely have sleepless nights. You will mess up on projects. BUT, you can do it. You’ve got this. 

Really, there’s no such thing as fearlessness. Especially when you’re stretching yourself to make your life better. So, don’t expect to be fearless.

In fact, anticipate the fear. It’s coming. But you can prepare for the fear now.

Your worries and doubts don’t have to keep you from seeing the finish line. BUT your reason to keep going has to be bigger than the fear that faces you. So, here is the question. What is your ‘why’? Why are you reading this? Why do you want to learn how to be a web designer? Do you know? 

If not, I’m sorry to say, you probably won’t last long. The first few weeks of this are fun and exciting. But, eventually the adrenaline wears off and you are left with a choice. Keep going or give up. Keep reading these emails or hit the spam or unsubscribe button because you’re too busy. Listen, I’ve been there and I know how it works. 

But if you really want to see a change in your life for the better. If you really want to double your income or get a job as a web designer, I’m telling you, YOU CAN if you decide now that no matter what happens you’re not stopping. 

So, let’s settle this. Figure out the big picture. See yourself 5 years from now. What are you doing with the extra money you’re making? It doesn’t have to be a selfish thing. You could be putting money away for your kid’s college fund. You could pay off debt so you can give a little bit more to friends, family or whoever else might need it.

Or you could be looking at the stack of projects you have in your portfolio. All of the sites that used to not exist that are now available for anyone in the world to browse because you didn’t give up.

You are the hero of this story. I’m just the coach here to help guide the way. And, while I can set you up with everything you need, it is you that has to do the work. You are the one that has to overcome the obstacles you face to reach the other side. But, here’s the thing, I know you can do it. I know with the right reasons to keep going you will be able to overcome the fear you face and the doubts you have.

You will be able to win.

So, today, figure out your “why” because 3 weeks from now you are going to need it.