Expert Angle: How to Check Out of the Hotel California of Fear

Ever felt like the guy in the Eagles’ song “Hotel California?” His tale is that of entering a fancy hotel where you can “check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

As the singer tells us this strange tale of a scary place with “voices in the corridor,” I think of the fears we Ambit Consultants experience.

It’s intoxicating – like the song – to escape to this fictitious place “where we’re all prisoners of our own device.”

That’s why you can always find a room at the Hotel California of fear. It’s just a moment away, lurking like the voices in the corridor.

So, is it possible to find a passage back to the “place you were before?”

How to Escape the Fear

Yes, it is if you’re willing to ignore the voices telling you that you can never leave. Of course you can leave. You’re only a prisoner to the fear if you let it entrap you.

Here are five tips to escape what the Eagles were writing about in this song – the overwhelm we experience when we start to find success or even just as seekers.

1. Remind yourself of your journey. Do you have a goal for your business? Revisit it often, especially every time you feel fear creeping in.
2. Identify your outcomes. In order to unclench the fear, you need to know what’s behind it. A good place to start is to ask yourself, “If I pick up the phone and call one person, what will happen?” You can predict a list of outcomes and then face the fear. If they hang up on you, so what? If they yell at you, so what? If they seem interested in your opportunity or service, bada bing. So, outcome the fear and it will be a lot easier to face.
3. Remember that people are just people. Do you remember when you had to speak in school?  One of the overused tricks was to pretend the audience was naked. Or you could focus on just one person. That’s one of the best tips I can share – they are just people. Having a conversation with one person shouldn’t be intimidating, especially if you’re looking for common ground and to help them.
4. Write down the tiny victories. You know, when you make that first phone call and it’s not as bad as you think. When you sponsor your first person. When you sell your first order. Record these and visit them when you need a boost of confidence.
5. Change something. One of the simplest ways to overcome fear is to change what you’re already doing – starting without a plan for your call, for instance. Try making a little cheat sheet for your first call with the Inviting Formula. This may help you stay focused on your task at hand and not that haunting chord of fear.

Next Steps: Tell us how you check out of the Hotel California of Ambit fear in the comments below.