I've been thinking a lot about fear, and how often I let it make decisions for me.

The fear of being lost and feeling helpless kept me from exploring the world in a bigger way.

The fear of being ridiculed kept me from owning my expertise, and charging accordingly.

The fear of being wrong kept me from speaking out about things that I believe.

There's an expression that says, "Feel the fear and do it anyway." I used to think that was just more "grind harder" bravado, but it's not.

What I've discovered is that the fear is always bigger and scarier than the reality. In all cases, what I was afraid of either didn't happen at all, or it was so minor as to be laughable.

We did get lost here in Morocco, several times. People were kind and helped us out, and we discovered things we might not have otherwise seen.

Have people judged me for standing up and saying I know things? I don't know. Certainly not to my face.

Have they questioned my opinions on topics like AI, the coaching industry, and online business in general? Probably, and so what?

The more I think about this, the clearer it becomes.

Whenever there is fear, it's not protecting me. It's holding me back. It's standing in the way of me getting what I want.

Yesterday, my friend Angela wrote, "We don't live in fear anymore over here."

I think she's onto something, but what does this have to do with systems and running a strong business?

Everything.

Systems aren't just the email platform you use, or how you write a sales page, or how you host a live event. They're also how you show up every single day. They're the habits and routines that build a business and a life.

Emailing your list.

Publishing a YouTube video every week.

Going live to talk about something important.

When you let fear decide whether you email, publish, or show up, your systems become inconsistent—and inconsistent systems produce inconsistent results.

So let me ask you this—and you don't have to respond to me directly, but I hope you'll answer honestly for yourself.

Where are you letting fear stop you from being the solopreneur and human being you want to be? What if you just did it anyway?

Cindy “Fear is just another data point” Bidar

Here are four cool things worth sharing...

Systematic is a human-authored newsletter. All single-word paragraphs, em dashes, and jokes that don't quite land are entirely my fault.

The legal(ish) stuff: Some of the links you'll find in my emails may be affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I might earn a small commission. Thank you for trusting me to help you make smart buying decisions. If you crave more legalese it can be found on my website.