There are gifts and a talents that you were born with. Maybe you’ve practiced using that gift over the years and it’s gotten better. Maybe you’re to the point that you want to make money off of your talents. Thankfully, there are people who want what you have!

Fear is a natural process for creatives – you produce something that’s subjective and you need to meet the consumer’s expectation in order for your work to be “good” and that can be a tricky process. Managing fear is a large part of what you’ll learn to do as you mature in the path of creative entrepreneurship.

I’m sharing 5 tips on managing fear in the creative process!

1- Fear is a part of the crew. Did you know you have a full crew of characters to draw from? Each of them has a special power, a special quality that influences your life and decisions. One of those characters is Fear. Unfortunately, fear is the one that has, for many of us, made its way to center stage with a spotlight right on it. There are other characters too, like courage, curiosity, and wisdom (and many more…). But those don’t get called forth the way that Fear does. It’s our job to notice when Fear’s popping on stage when he’s not called for, write him off the script!

2- Shine your spotlight elsewhere. You always have a choice of where you shine your spotlight. You can shine it right on your insecurity and fears. The other choice is – you can point it toward your customers, your audience, your industry friends. That spotlight is a metaphor for your energy and your attention. Use it wisely because you don’t want the bulb to suddenly go out!

3- Your product isn’t what people are buying. This might surprise you. If you’re a graphic designer who creates birthday cards to be sold at boutiques. Guess what? People aren’t paying money to buy the card. Yes, they physically pay money for the card but they choose the one you made because of the story they think it tells! For anything you create, make sure there’s a compelling case for it. If you’re a painter, rather than just sending a client a piece, tell them what inspired it, the story behind it, the magic that you see in it. It makes the piece that much more valuable – people connect to stories!

4- Perfect is false. Guess what? Perfect actually doesn’t exist! Looking for perfect means that you’re trying to satisfy the eye of somebody else and also everybody else. That actually doesn’t exist. It also is inauthentic to you. I suggest looking at what is “great enough.” Something you can be proud of even if you know it’s not “perfect” and that you can live with.

5- Name your fear. I’m being DEAD serious. When you think that Fear is just your voice, it actually messes with what you can and can’t do. Take some time to think about an object, a person, a name that you want your fear to embody. For example, one of my clients has a dinosaur figurine that she uses. It takes the power away from the fear, giving you the control to turn down the sound of that voice. Maybe you name your saboteur “Judy” because that’s the name of the person who just gets you going in real life. Make it personal to you, but ultimately, make sure that the voice is somebody else and not your truth.

If nothing else, please take this away – you are bigger than your fear. And the best antidote to fear is taking small, calculated risk through action. Once you conquer something, it’s proof that you can do it. Those small proofs add up to something much bigger. So keep steppin’ my friend!

My challenge to you is come to reinaandco.com/join and join the Heart Centered Biz Bosses facebook group. I’d love for you to tell us the personification of your Fear. What do you want to name it and tell it to quiet down?

REVERIE MINGLES: WHAT IS THE NAME OF YOUR FEAR AND HOW DO YOU NEUTRALIZE IT?