One of my most favorite sayings is, "With God and Google, we can do anything." In fact, I credit God and Google with the fact that I'm a published author and run my own business.

I still remember the day I felt like God wanted me to be an author. After a few moments of conversation with Him (mostly me saying, "What in the world do I know about writing a book?"), I got out my computer and Googled, "How to write a book."

Don't think for a second that I wasn't terrified of all that I learned was going to be required of me to become an author. Google did not paint a pretty picture, at all, but I knew that with God moving me past my fear and into my future, I was ready to take the leap and start writing.

I've met so many women like me over the years, women sitting on the edge of an exciting future, with so many doors of opportunity open to them, but terrified to take the leap and start their own business.



Understanding that fear is normal (and being reminded of that often) helps us push through and keeps us moving toward the life that God has created for us.

I write about one of those women, Melissa, in my newest book, "Fierce Faith." Melissa hired me as a business coach a couple of years ago. She'd had a pretty devastating setback in her career, and was frozen in fear, unable to take another step forward. She had a great idea for starting her own business, and the timing certainly seemed right for her to get started (especially considering that her former employer was going to become her first client). But she couldn't do it. She just could not start. Melissa needed someone to give her some sound advice and help her see that she absolutely had what it took to be successful.

As a Business Coach, I am so often blessed to have the opportunity to help women achieve their goals. With each of them, I always start with these three primary pieces of wisdom.

1. Find community. You need a mentor or a coach to give you wisdom and strategy, but also to strengthen you when things feel scary or difficult (because trust me, things WILL feel scary and difficult).

A coach is someone who sees your potential and is skilled at helping you reach it. I have a business coach. She challenges me to always keep moving forward. She tells me when I'm losing focus or veering off course. And most of all, she keeps me from ever letting fear make me believe I can't reach my goals.

2. Create a flexible plan. I'm not talking about an old school business plan here, but at the very least you'll want to create a document that lists out what steps you're going to take and when you're going to take them. This is necessary because if you have no written plan, how do you know if you're making progress?

My plan for becoming an author was pretty simple, just five steps: write a blog, build an audience, walk through open doors that would connect me to others, meet publishers, get published. Under each of those steps I had a few ideas of things I needed to do, and then one-by-one, I accomplished them. It took me ten years to go from step one to step five, but the point is I DID IT.

3. Understand that fear is normal. Fear is normal. God gave us fear to keep us safe. Interestingly enough, our fear-fighting system, called the fight or flight response, is designed to tell us when to run away and when to stand and fight. But for some reason, especially when it comes to something as scary as starting a business, when we feel afraid, we take that as a sign that we are supposed to run away. But what if that fear means we are supposed to stay and fight past the fear, fight for our goals, fight for our future?



Understanding that fear is normal (and being reminded of that often) helps us push through and keeps us moving toward the life that God has created for us.

Friend, I am here to tell you (and be an example too) that God has a beautiful, powerful, and meaningful purpose for your future. Don't let fear stop you in your tracks. Push through it, surround yourself with smart people, learn everything you can, and then go for it.