Fear of Success: Why You’re Scared of Achieving Your Dream Business | #244

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Have you ever been more afraid of your dream coming true than of it failing?

Fear of failure is real, but what about the fear of success?

In this episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, Shannon Russell, business coach for women and author of Start Your Second Act, dives into one of the most overlooked blocks in entrepreneurship and career transitions: the fear of actually succeeding.

If you’ve been procrastinating launching your business, stalling on finishing your website, or quietly holding back from fully going all in, this episode is for you.

Inside, we unpack:

• What fear of success really is and why it shows up during a career transition
• Why achieving your dream business can feel scarier than failing
• The hidden identity shift that happens when you become your own boss
• How fear of change keeps women stuck in corporate roles
• Practical ways to reframe fear and step into your second act with confidence

For women navigating a midlife career transition, leaving a 9 to 5 job, or starting a business after years in corporate, this conversation will help you understand why you may be subconsciously holding yourself back.

Success is not an ending. It is the beginning of your next chapter.

If you’re ready to move past fear and build a business aligned with your life, this episode will help you step into the next version of you.

🔗 Get the full show notes here!

Subscribe now for actionable insights on how to shift your mindset, take control of your career, and build a thriving business.

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Transcript

Transcription:

Second Act Success Podcast

Season 1 - Fear of Success: Why You’re Scared of Achieving Your Dream Business | #244

Episode - #244

Host: Shannon Russell

Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

Shannon Russell: [00:00:00] let me ask you, have you ever been more afraid of your dream coming true than of it failing? I know that sounds strange, , but recently I had a client say to me, Shannon, I hate to admit it, but I'm afraid for my business to succeed because if it does, then this dream I've had for so long will go away.

That hit me. I was not expecting that. , But the more I thought about it, I realized that a lot of us hold onto that dream or that goal because it's what we want.

We stop before we take that action. Not because we don't believe that it can happen, but because deep down we're scared of what it means when it does.

Welcome to the second Act Success podcast. I am your host, business coach and author Shannon Russell. We are talking about one of the sneakiest fears I see come up for women starting businesses, and it's not what you would expect it is [00:01:00] the fear of success

let's unpack this. We all know about the fear of failure, the fear of what others will think. fear of the unknown. Those are all easy to understand because it's fear of making mistakes or losing money or looking foolish or being judged.

But think about the fear of success. That is something that is a little bit more hidden, I would say, it's a quieter feeling, a quieter, , fear that you hold within. Well, what if I actually do do it than what, right? There's more fear of unknown. What happens once I succeed?

Or what if I lose myself in the process sometimes in fearing this fear of success and actually getting what you're working towards it is that fear of things changing. But guess what? They are going to change. If you are leaving your nine to five job and you're going to start a business, guess what?

There are going to be changes. They don't have to be overnight and huge, but there are going to be little [00:02:00] things that change. of the big ones that I talk with my clients a lot about is not having that boss, not having that boss or that manager.

To tell them what to do each and every day. As a business owner, you are calling the shots. You are making your to-do list. And guess what? If you don't make that to-do list, the work isn't getting done because it's all on you.

There's no one to tell you what to do today, tomorrow, and the next day so those are just some little fears of what will happen on the other side of succeeding, and this client that I was mentioning to you as we dove more into what she was so afraid of, we realized that it was the fact that she had had this dream of being her own boss for many years. And so that dream kept her going and it was her comfort, she knew she was always thinking about this and working towards this while she had her job and while [00:03:00] she was raising her kids.

And she was worried about what happens when I don't have this dream anymore. If you are working towards a goal, you achieve it. You are there. So now what? Now? You need to make a next goal and start moving towards that. I mean, that is what drives us to keep going in life,

you don't just make dinner on Monday and say, okay, I made dinner. You need to figure out your meals for the rest of the week. It's an ongoing process, any goal, large or small is a goal that you hopefully attain and you take comfort in that and you rejoice and you're happy or. In the case of dinner, you're full.

And then you think about, okay, well what about tomorrow? What about the next day? And so, yes, our dreams are comforting. They help us feel safe. We know that we're always working towards this big goal, but when that comfort zone is gone, that's when we're stuck saying, okay, [00:04:00] now what? So it makes sense. Here's what I've learned from working with not only this client, but hundreds of other women in career transition over the years, is that sometimes when we hold on a dream for that, someday down the road, it feels safer than saying, what if my dream comes true today? And as long as it's in the future, it's perfect.

It looks beautiful. There's nothing stressful or overwhelming about it. It can't fail, because it's out in the distance and you're just running towards it slowly. If you want to,

that's great. If that's where you want to hold your dream and have it up on that pedestal for someday, that's one thing, The danger is that if we spend our lives dreaming and waiting for someday instead of doing, then we'll never actually live that dream. You'll never get to enjoy and feel that accomplishment of actually getting it done let's take business [00:05:00] as an example. If you have wanted to become your own boss, you have this business idea, and let's say you spend six months working towards really launching and getting this business out into the world. Now it's out into the world and you can breathe that sigh of relief.

You can feel proud of yourself and excited. But there are many other goals coming up Because now that you've accomplished this, you get to figure out how to get your next client or customer you can start thinking about your marketing plan.

You can start thinking about partnerships. You can start thinking about the next service or the next product that you want to create. So you're constantly moving, but you're in a place that you dreamed about. there are still areas of your business and of your life that you're going to have to get used to.

 And it's just going to be more challenges. But that is what you ultimately want, right? And you deserve to be able to live out that dream and accomplish that goal to see what's possible when you actually keep [00:06:00] moving forward. Don't you want to know what it's going to be like when you achieve it?

Speaker 2: If this episode has you thinking about starting a business or growing the one that you already have, I offer free second ACT strategy calls. This is where we map out what makes sense for your business and your life. You can book yours now at second act success.co/strategy, or grab the link in the show notes below.

Now let's get back to the show.

Okay, so let's just talk about where this fear of success comes from, because it's not really about the success, it's more about the idea of change and I have to say that one of the biggest hurdles that women I speak to and my clients have is fear of that unknown.

What happens when I reach this or what will other people say? What will they think about me in making this change? When you hold onto this dream for so long, it becomes part of you, something that you can hold onto.

It [00:07:00] gives you that hope, but when you finally reach it, that little voice says, well, who will I be after this? And here's the truth. You are still you. You're just that next version. And I say a lot here on the show is that even if you change careers and you start a business, you are still that teacher, that accountant, that television producer.

You are still that person. You know how to do that job. And that title is just one of the many titles that you hold.

And starting a business that's a new title and it's the next version of you. It's the version of you where you actually accomplished your goal. You did the thing, and it's the one where you showed yourself that you were capable of actually getting it done.

My point is, is that if you are holding yourself back, maybe procrastinating on your idea or never quite finishing that website, you started start thinking about why and start moving through it. Reframing that [00:08:00] fear so you can acknowledge that you're a little worried, you're a little scared.

Don't shame yourself for it because it is completely normal. We all feel that way, but say it out loud like I'm scared of what happens when I succeed. Name it. Because then it loses its power and you're admitting that, yeah, I'm scared of this unknown. Rightfully so. It's new. You've never been in that place before.

then redefine what success is. Success doesn't mean an ending. It's actually the beginning when your dream becomes real and you've launched that business. It's not going to disappear. It's going to evolve because now you'll get to grow it and you'll get to hire a team or figure out the next step in getting that customer or client.

It's a redefinition of what success is because success isn't just a final finish line. It's a step or a beginning into the next chapter, the next act. then focus on your mission. It's not necessarily the the milestone of, okay, the business [00:09:00] is launched. Think about why you are wanting to create this business, why this second act is important to you.

What is your purpose behind it? What are you passionate about? Sometimes when you start thinking about the exciting parts of it, that fear can start to fade away Because success isn't about losing that dream or that goal. It's about expanding it, right?

It's the evolution. And then visualize what this next chapter will be like. , Okay, this is who I'm going to become. This is how it's going to impact my family, my friends, my time, , my creativity. Start visualizing what it will be like and then it won't be so scary.

Or if any problems or uncomfortable situations arise, you can start tackling in your mind how you would overcome those, how you can combat any fears of financial issues or. Time constraints or, how it will impact dinners at night or your weekends. So that you can start [00:10:00] thinking about any potential issues and start combating them now rather than later.

I want you to know that I remember feeling this fear too when I left my television career and I knew I wanted to become my own boss, but how was I going to do it? And when I finally chose the business, I wanted to start, I had this moment of panic and I said, okay, this is real. What if it falls apart?

What if I can't handle this? And think about it. We're in our careers for a good amount of time. We start feeling comfortable. We feel successful and to start over, it's a feeling we haven't had probably since we left school. For me, I realize, okay, I've. Launched this business and now there are new dreams, and I started thinking about what that next goal was that I wanted to attain. I wanted x number of customers, X number of clients. I wanted to eventually win that, , top franchisee award because my first business was a part of a franchise.

And I started reaching, I want this new partner, I wanna make X [00:11:00] amount per month. And you can start setting new goals. And it becomes exciting. As your business grows, you grow and your confidence grows.

My advice for you is to stop letting your fear freeze you and use that fear as fuel. If you are feeling fear in any way, my friend, I hope that you are ready to start stepping into that feeling rather than avoiding it start allowing your soon to be success to take you to that next level.

I have worked with so many women who have had that idea, and then we work together and we build out that plan and we get them financially confident and ready and, and building that momentum and they launch the business. And they are in go mode. They are ready. They have done it, and they have this new feeling of confidence and excitement and they wanna just keep going.

And I want that for you. I do. I'm happy to chat with you if you want to book a free strategy call. You can [00:12:00] grab the link in the show notes below. We can talk for 30 minutes about your plans, your fears, and how you can move forward building this second act that really fills you up in a way where you are so excited that there is no room for fear.

All right my friend. Thank you for joining me. I hope this episode has helped you feel a little bit better about where you are in building your second act. And remember, you don't have to be afraid of success. You just have to trust that you can handle whatever comes.

Make it a wonderful day, and I will talk to you on the next episode of the second Act Success podcast.

Speaker: Thank you for joining me for another episode of the second Act Success podcast. If this episode has you thinking about starting a business or growing the one that you already have, I offer free second ACT strategy calls. This is where we map out what makes sense for your business and your life. You can book yours now at second act [00:13:00] success.co/strategy, or grab the link in the show notes below.

As always, thank you for being here. Until next time, I'm your host Shannon Russell wishing you the best day ahead as you plan your second act. I'll see you on the next episode.