And let’s be clear, I’m not telling you to go jump out of a plane before you’ve conquered your fear of heights, but I am telling you to confront your fears in order to achieve what you’ve TRULY wanted.

You won’t find me preaching these messages to you from a high mountain top that’s never touched the challenges associated with them – I’m right there in the trenches with you. I’m feeling the high of every win and the discomfort associated with each new step. And 2019 was beautiful proof of that.

In 2018, I took myself through my own coaching program and in 2019 I put to action what I learned from it.

2019 has undoubtably been the best year of my life because I silenced the fear that was limiting me, ditched the idea of what I was “supposed to be” doing, prioritized my opinion over others, designed my career and life around the things I love, and most importantly I bet on myself. 

Here’s a glimpse into my journey in 2019: 

My fear of starting held me back, but incredible things happened once I took the plunge

Before launching my business, I was gung-ho: I did the inner-work to discover what I wanted, was extremely passionate about the idea and put the work in to achieve it.

But when time came to press “launch”, I froze. For THREE months to be exact.

I had everything ready and my LLC formed in January, but didn’t launch my business until the end of March – merely because of fear.

“What if I fail? What will people think? Am I an imposter? What if I don’t get any clients?”

Those thoughts held me back for 86 days…and actually decades before if I’m being honest.

But finally one day I mustered up the courage to turn the volume down on those fears and rip the band-aid off to chase my dreams and start my business.  

On the first day of my business, I got three clients. Three people I had never met trusted me with their lives on DAY ONE of my business. How many other women could I have helped in those THREE MONTHS I held back because of my fears?! 

This began my attitude of *insert Nike swoosh* JUST GOING FOR IT.

I pushed past fear, I failed, and My failures *actually* set me up for success 

Previously, when people would say “be thankful for your failures”, I would launch into an aggressive eye-roll and presume that saying was just a bullshit answer people would drop in a job interview…until I experienced it myself. First, with my advertising burnout and even more with my coaching business. 

Starting your own business is a vulnerable thing, especially in the first few months. For instance, I knew I wanted to speak to gain awareness for my business, but I was scared shitless to do so.

I remember my first speaking gig…not in a warm-fuzzy nostalgic way, but in a cringe-worthy sweaty and nauseating way.

Let me paint you a picture of my first gig:

I was in a room of about 30 people. It was a Friday and their last meeting of the day. I had prepared so much for my workshop that I came off like the try hard kid in school (you know the one I’m talking about). I had presentation slides with cutesy titles, jokes that received crickets and interactive activities in which I was the only person interacting – IT WAS MORTIFYING.

I left that workshop wanting to crawl in a hole and never do it again. But because of that experience, I learned what didn’t work and proceeded to sucsessfully do 15+ workshops/panels/events which have now become key to my business growth. I’ve spoken with Fortune 500 companies, news stations, podcasts, etc.  

Take those fails, learn from them and get moving onto those dreams. 

I practiced what i preach and disproved the limiting narrative that society often tells us: 

Good things don’t necessarily take time

Within 6 months of starting my business, I was awarded “20 on The Rise” in the coaching category by HoneyBook and Rising Tide Society. 

you don’t have to have all the bells and whistles to get started

I’ve been running this business off a 2009 Macbook in the living room of my tinnyyyyy apartment.

You don’t have to have thousands of followers to work with brands

Despite a smaller following, I was able to work with tons of brands such as Expedia, WeWork, Equilibria and more! 

you can do work you love and still have a life (AKA DITCH The “Hustle” mentality)

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I have beef with glorifying the “hustle” lifestyle. My coaching programs focus on designing a career AND life around what you want/love and I did just that for myself. This year I traveled to 5 countries, did girls weekends, spent time with people I love and invested in various forms of self care. 

2019 was one hell of a year. Thank you for being an integral part of this journey. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in 2020!

Interested in kicking your fears and betting on yourself? Neha is a Career Coach who helps women overcome fears and design a career and life they love. Book your complimentary consult to get started.