Ep #131: How to Leverage the Power of Fear

Hi docs, welcome to The EntreMD Podcast, where it’s all about helping amazing physicians just like you embrace entrepreneurship so you can have the freedom to live life and practice medicine on your terms. I’m your host, Dr. Una.

Well hello, hello, my friends. Welcome back to another episode of The EntreMD Podcast. I am excited as always to be in your ears. Thank you so, so much for being a listener, for sharing, for sending me PMs and DMs letting me know how this is helping you. It just makes me super excited that this work is making a difference and that it matters.

And today, I want to talk about one of my favorite things, and it is how to leverage the power of fear. And you might be like, “Why is that one of her favorite things?” Because fear was such an issue for me. Such a big issue.

And I always thought I was weird and abnormal until I did the enneagram testing thing and I found I was an enneagram six and the description the person who was teaching it gave is like, “These are the guys who have pre-traumatic stress disorder.”

Like before something goes wrong, they’ve already played it out like how all the things will go wrong, the long-term consequences of it, the whole nine yards, terrorized, terrified, everything. And I was like, “Oh, there’s more of me.”

So, I love living above fear. I love living a life where I no longer feel trapped by fear, where I don’t let it stop me, where I’m not really bothered by it. And I’ve reframed the way I think about it. It is so liberating. So, whether you’re an enneagram six or not, you’re going to get a whole lot out of this. We are going to learn to make fear work for us.

Now, the truth of the matter is the fear is an indicator. Now, when I’m talking about fear, I’m not talking about you’re close to the edge of a cliff and you’re afraid you’ll fall off. Please don’t be close to the edge of a cliff and be at risk of falling off. How about that?

Okay, so that’s not what I’m referring to. I’m referring to the fear that shows up every time you try to do something new, every time you try to take bold steps. So you’ve decided, I’m going to start a business or I’m going to start a podcast or I’ve had this blog forever, I’m going to hit publish, I’m going to put myself out there, I’m going to say yes to a speaking gig, I’m going to do my first signature talk, you know, any of those things, here comes fear.

Like, “You can’t do that. Who do you think you are? You’re not the kind of person that can do that. You’re going to really flop at this and it’s going to be so bad and people are going to laugh at you and nobody’s going to like your product and they’re going to give you a one-star review…” and on and on and on.

That’s the fear I’m talking about. How do you leverage it? So, fear is just an indicator. Think about it this way. This is such an interesting way of thinking about it. It’s an indicator. It shows you that you are at the border of your comfort zone. Isn’t that so cool? You are at the border of your comfort zone.

So, when you’re in cruise control, think of it like this is my comfort zone, there is a fence around it and I’m staying in the fence, like I’m staying in the comfort zone. And every time you go close to the fence, your fear indicator starts going off like, “You’re at the edge… If you just go past this fence, you are outside your comfort zone.”

But this is the deal. All the magic, all the progress, all the wild results are outside your comfort zone. Everything you want is outside your comfort zone. Everything. So, you don’t want to be comfortable.

I mean, you want to live in a comfortable house. You want to drive a comfortable car and all of that. You don’t want your life to be in comfort zone mode. You don’t want your business to be in comfort zone mode. You want to be stretching and pushing and pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

Because if you live outside your comfort zone, I can guarantee that six months from now, you’ll turn around and you’ll go, “Wow, how did I become this person? I’m amazed at my life. I’m amazed at my business. I’m amazed at the amazing physicians I get to work with.” You can tell I abuse the word amazed, right? Its just my thing, so forgive me, it’s my thing.

I’m amazed by it. I’m amazed at the results I’ve been able to get. I’m amazed at the life change that me saying yes has triggered for others. When people send me PMs and DMs and let me know the impact the podcast or the business school or any of those things, or maybe they heard me at an event, the impact it’s had on their lives, it makes me cry. I didn’t know I’d be here, but I fought to get out of my comfort zone.

I’m saying all that to say you don’t want to be comfortable. You don’t want to be in cruise control. You want to be a little nervous. Like, okay, we can do this, just a little bit. And not bad nervous. Good nervous like, “I’m doing something different.”

You don’t want to be in your comfort zone. Your comfort zone is where dreams go to die, where you tell the stories of what could have been but nothing ever came out of it.

What if you chose your comfort zone instead of medical school? I don’t know that medical school is a comfort zone for anybody. What if you chose that? But you didn’t. You chose to go into multiple six-figure debt maybe to go to medical school. You chose the sleepless nights. You chose a degree that would take you eight years to earn when others are earning theirs n four. You chose to quote unquote give up your youth and dedicate it to becoming a doctor. You chose all of that discomfort and you became this person.

What if you embraced discomfort one more time? What if you made embracing discomfort a new habit? What if every time you were afraid, you recognized the fear as, “Oh my goodness, I’m at the boundary of my comfort zone? So, what am I going to do? I’m going to say yes. I’m going to go do that thing I’m afraid of. Because if I don’t say yes, I’m staying in my comfort zone, which is where dreams go to die. If I say yes and I go ahead, then I’m outside my comfort zone where all the magic happens.”

So, your fear is just an indicator. It’s an indicator that there’s something you should say yes to, that you’re at the brink of a whole new dimension if you just say yes to the thing that fear is pointing out. It’s just an indicator. You’re driving your car, there’s an indicator that says, “You’re going low on gas.” You don’t go like, “Oh my gosh…” you just go get gas.

In the same way, when fear shows up. It’s just an indicator saying you’re at the edge of your comfort zone. If you take one more step, you’re in magic zone.

So, my goal is to always be out of my comfort zone. That is my goal, to always be out of my comfort zone, to always say yes when fear shows up, because I know it’s just an indicator saying, “If you just say yes to this thing that I pointed out, you’re about to create magic everywhere.”

So, I didn’t have to do EntreMD, but I said yes. I didn’t have to embrace speaking, but I said yes. I didn’t have to start a podcast, uncomfortable, but I said yes. And let me tell you something; it is a muscle. The more you practice living outside your comfort zone, the more comfortable you become with being uncomfortable.

I never knew I would say this, but there is a certain level of comfort I have living outside my comfort zone. Like I’m just cool. It’s a little nerve-racking, it’s different. I’m not exactly sure of what will happen. This is an experiment and I’m cool. I’m like totally cool with it. Discomfort. Embrace it all.

Now, Dr Carolyn Moyers, shoutout to her, she’s an OBGYN and she’s a DO and she helps women with pelvic pain in pregnancy. She’s a rockstar. She joined the EntreMD Business School the same day she started her practice and she’s brought that practice to a point where it’s paying for herself, got to the point she’s like, “I’m going to quit my job. I’m going to focus on doing this,” because it was paying for itself with her working two half-days a week.

And she’s like, “I’m going full-time.” And she’s already had fully-booked days and stuff like that. She is rocking it. And she made this statement. She said, “I live in the zip code of discomfort.” I was like, I am so borrowing that. I live in the zip code of discomfort.

She’s making a quality decision to just live there. And I want to invite you to do the same thing. Just live there. It’s okay. The goal is not to be comfortable. The goal is to live outside the comfort zone. That’s where all the magic is.

So, you’ve been thinking of starting a business; it’s uncomfortable. Start it. Start it. You’re at a point where your business has grown and you know you need to hire people and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, everything is great until you bring in the people.” But one is too smaller number for greatness.

So, if you’re going to build it bigger, if you’re going to buy your time back, you’re going to have to hire. It’s uncomfortable. But it’s a skill. You can learn it. And you can practice it. And you can make some mistakes and then get some really good people. And there will be some maybe friction in the beginning, not because there’s a problem, it’s just there’s two different people trying to make a team.

And even when you have a basketball team that gets all the rock stars, they kind of have to work their chemistry. And that’s okay. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s okay. So, maybe that’s you. Well, hey, do it.

Maybe you’ve been in cruise control and you know you should scale. You know that you’re underperforming compared to your potential. You know that. But you’re like, “Everything’s just good. I don’t want to rock the boat. I don’t want to have to work anymore. I don’t want to read one more book.”

Listen, if you know you should and you’re only running away because it’s uncomfortable, well say yes to your discomfort. You know, you should invest in yourself but it’s uncomfortable because you’re going to have to devote time. You’re going to have to devote money. And of course, if you sign up for some kind of training, they’re going to force you – not force you, but they’re going to challenge you to do things outside your comfort zone. You’re just like, “I don’t want to deal.”

You should say yes. It’s uncomfortable, but you should say yes to investing in yourself. When the EntreMD Business School opens up again, January 2022, I mean, you should get on that waitlist today, entremd.com/business. You should come be a part of it.

I am so excited about the new cohort. I cannot wait to start telling you their stories. A phenomenal group of doctors. Phenomenal. I mean, just to be in that group is worth the entire investment. But anyway, if you’re scared, do it.

Maybe you’re here and you’re like, “Oh yeah, I have always known I should do a podcast. I’ve talked to doctors, for the last five years I’ve wanted to do a podcast.” Okay, it’s uncomfortable because you’re going to have to talk into a mic as opposed to human beings, and maybe that’s weird to you. You’re like, “I don’t know what I’m going to say. I don’t know what mic to use. Oh my goodness, when I put it out there, people will be critical of me. I don’t know if it will be good enough.” The whole nine yards. It’s just flat-out uncomfortable.

Well, embrace it. Remember, fear, you may be feeling fear, fear is just an indicator that you are right at the edge of your comfort zone. You take one more step, you’re in magic zone, where all the magic happens.

So, my question to you would be, what are you afraid of in your business? What are you afraid of? It’s time to see the fear as the indicator it is and realize, “Oh there’s something I should say yes to.”

So, what I want you to do today, ask that question. And I want you to start – I want you to reframe the way you think about fear. Celebrate when you feel fear. It means, “This is something I should do. This is something I should try. Oh yeah,” that’s all that means. Fear doesn’t mean stop, except if you’re standing at the edge of a cliff. Fear means you’re about to get into magic zone. Alright, it’s not an indication to stop. It shows you what you should embrace.

So, what could happen if, for the next three months, six months, 12 months this was your new thing, you embraced fear, you saw it as what it is, it’s just an indicator, something you should say yes to? What would that do for your life? What would that do for your business?

Let me tell you something. You guys know, I always talk about the 90-year-old me and I know she’ll be saying, “Girl, those fears are not valid. Those things you’re scared of are not true. Just do your thing.” I know that’s what she would say. Your fears are not valid. They aren’t. Embrace all the discomfort. Do all the things. And use fear to create momentum rather than allowing fear to stop you.

Okay, I think that’s something you should post on social media and tag me. Yeah, that sounds really good. So, rewind and post it on social media and tag me. But use fear to create momentum. Stop letting it stop you.

Alright, so that’s what I have for you guys today. I want to hear all your stories because you went everywhere, you embraced your fears, you told it, “Thank you for showing me where I need to go next,” and you embraced it and you did all the things and you created momentum.

So, thank you again for listening. Be sure to post that on social media, tag me, #entremd and I will see you, my friend, on the very next episode of The EntreMD Podcast.

Hey, if you love listening to The EntreMD Podcast I want to invite you to join EntreMD On Demand. It is my signature subscription program that gives you access to a library of business courses designed to help you do one thing as a physician entrepreneur, and that is to thrive. Just head out to entremd.com/ondemand and I’d love to have you join us. See you on the inside.