💡✍️ADN #100: Confident Fear

100 weeks ago, I had an idea.

I wanted to start writing about my experiences, learnings, mistakes, and methods from years in the music business.

But when I sat down to start, I was drowning in doubt.

“I want to write, but are my thoughts interesting enough?”

“I want to share, but I’m not great at self-promotion.”

I decided to go for it that week, even though my fear of the unknown was high, because I thought, “No one will probably read what I write much anyway, and I can always delete it tomorrow if I want to.”

That week, I wrote and sent out the first Artist Development Newsletter.

This wasn’t the best mindset to start writing from, but looking back, I did one of the two hardest things when facing fears… I started.

The fear of what is on the other side of action can be crippling and cause inaction, and there is nothing worse than inaction on an idea.

Think of all the times you did something you were afraid to do, only to discover it was a great idea that everyone loved or nobody cared much.

Both outcomes are equally eye-opening.

They teach you that the world keeps spinning either way.

And you learn if your idea is worth your energy.

When it comes to artist development, the same is true.

The world won’t care what you do or don’t do until you’ve done it enough for a corner of the earth to take notice.

By the time you’ve done it enough to get some attention, you’ll have enough reps under you to establish more confident fear.

What is confident fear?

Confident fear is when you have enough experience to know that everything will be okay regardless of what the world thinks of the next thing you say, do, write, release, play, etc.

I’m not afraid when I walk onstage, but even after 2000 + shows, I still fear failure.

There is always a chance that tonight could be the best or worst show I’ve played.

Those fears are just a sign that I care about my craft.

The same is true for you.

When you have fearful thoughts in the back of your mind, think of them this way:

“The fear you conquer today might be what you need to have confidence tomorrow.”

And like this…

“The fear you conquer today might be what someone needs to help cure their tomorrow.”

Your effort is giving you and someone else energy and inspiration.

You become more confident each time you play another show, write another song, or ship another newsletter.

• You discover value in your work.
• You see growth from your consistency.
• You gain confidence from your fear.

If starting is the hardest part of facing your fears, then consistency is the other.

Consistency is the most crucial action to continually conquer fear and the inaction that comes with it.

With consistent action, opportunities appear.

Doors open.

The phone rings more often.

You will connect with and help others.

And you will help yourself.

You will start small at first, literally one person at a time.

Soon, one person will tell another, and your reach will compound.

Once this happens in one area of your life, it will give you confidence in other areas so that you can face your fears there as well.

In 100 weeks of consistent writing, I’ve reached a million + on social media and had over 150,000 people visit artistdevelopment.net to read newsletters like this one.

Is that good?

Is that bad?

I honestly don’t know.

It is what it is…

A result of starting and staying consistent.

I’ve connected with countless people in the last two years that I never would have otherwise.

I’ve been given opportunities that wouldn’t exist without putting myself out there.

And this is the same thing I’ve seen in the 25+ years I’ve been in the music industry.

When you keep putting one foot in front of the other, more doors will open, and while your fears won’t disappear, you will become more confident in taking that next step forward.

With each step, you’ll care less about what anyone thinks and trust your instinct and intuition more.

Will you always be right?

Nope.

Is that okay?

Yep.

With action, your fear becomes confidence, and your ideas can become a reality.

I encourage you to dive in on whatever action you are uncertain about.

The worst thing that happens is you don’t get the reaction you hoped to.

When that happens, you still have made progress.

You got an idea out of your head into the world.

It’s up to you to define success and turn your ideas into actions.

When you do, your fear will turn into confidence and results beyond what you imagined when you began.

My simple advice?

Start.

You’ll learn more by starting than you ever will thinking about it.

See you next Sunday -

Neil