What Keeps the Entrepreneur Up at Night?

Since I presume most of my readers are entrepreneurs, it is safe to say that we are all currently stressed over something dealing with our entrepreneurial pursuits right? I believe such a statement is true for every entrepreneur out there looking for successful results. When you are an entrepreneur, your business literally becomes your life. (sorry to all you who seek a perfect work/ life balance) When your life becomes dedicated to growing your business and making it successful; your feelings of anxiety become a natural part of your thought process.

But what specifically is your source of anxiety?

What keeps you up at night?

What haunts your thoughts day and night, giving you a feeling of uneasiness?

For me, this haunting thought is the feeling of not being qualified enough to serve my clients as best as possible. You can say it is a feeling of doubt but I think it is more about wanting to be the very best in my field of work and only provide the very best to those who invest within my services.

Let’s be real. Being an entrepreneur strategist/ developer/ motivator, whatever you want to call it is a very competitive environment. Many people are identifying themselves as being qualified as such these days. So, of course I look around at the competition and compare my knowledge to their knowledge. It’s not like I don’t know about entrepreneurship, nor that I don’t have a full grasp of its process. I have been able to maintain and persist through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship working within “the family business”. The difference now is that I am doing this endeavor on my own, with only myself being fully accountable for the success or failure of my venture.

For some reason though, the thought of, “you’re a fraud” comes across my mind from time to time. I heard such thoughts also go through the minds of highly successful people. They feel as if they don’t deserve their success or the recognition they constantly receive from others.

I would say that I am nowhere near being successful at this very moment but I am working hard towards producing the success I desire for myself. During this development stage though, I always feel as if I have to prove myself because my name does not currently hold weight within the entrepreneurial community. People question your knowledge, doubt your expertise and ability to effectively perform and try to lessen the price of the worth you have applied to yourself. And sometimes such opinions can creep into my mindset, having me to question if I can be successful at what I have set out to do.

Proving myself keeps me up at night and dominates my thoughts. I need to be the best and want to be the best when it comes to being an entrepreneur strategist/ developer. When I am not working, I feel as if I am slacking off and failing myself. That desire to be recognized for my thoughts and actions within the entrepreneurial community consumes me. It drives me. It eats away at me. It is what keeps me up at night.

How about yourself?