Only a fool tests the depth of a river with both feet…

Last week, we learnt (and some of us were inspired) from Abraham Lincoln and how he transformed his many failures, defeats and rejections into being one of the greatest Presidents the United States has had. Consider this a sequel.If there is one thing that is worse than failure, defeat or rejection, it is the fear of such. Fear is like failing twice. It is failing before you fail, before encountering the actual thing that you fear. This can be quite numbing and is the greatest enemy to creativity and innovation, for there is no fear like fear of the unknown.When you think of your dream do you see obstacles? You are not alone. If you enquire from most people why they are not pursuing their dream; they will almost invariable tell you about some obstacles. In business, the most ‘popular’ obstacle most people face in starting a business is to do is money; capital. Either there’s no capital or we are afraid of losing money. This is no small worry and indeed the kind of commitment (financial or otherwise) that businesses, especially startups, demand is no mean feat and one must tread carefully…nonetheless one must tread. An obstacle should be surrounded by action questions; where will solutions to this obstacle come from, how can you proceed so that the obstacle does not stop or limit you? What do you have to do to move forward with your limited resources?All obstacles should be encircled with questions that become calls to action. You will need resources to launch and grow your venture. The issue is how much. If you have a compelling opportunity, you will get the resources you need. To give you a sense of perspective, play the ‘Trying Game’ in mind. You begin by investing in what you believe is an opportunity. If your venture does not make it, the next time you attempt you will be savvier and your chances of succeeding will be greater. Don’t make major expenditures until you have a strong sense that you are on the scent of a real opportunity.While trying out the venture, as much as you to minimize costs and strive mobilise free resources, equipment, and people.Develop your business during evenings and weekends and spend the minimum on development and start-up costs until you know you are on the right track.It is always important not to work alone, get one or more partners. This helps you come up with other ideas on how you can implement the project as well as other projects that you can implement through brainstorming. Word of caution though: choose your partners very carefully, they must be understanding and trustworthy. You don’t want a partner who will be a baggage or worse, one that will, at the first opportunity take off with your business idea. Try as much as possible to know the amount/quantity of resources that you need. Approximations, no matter how inaccurate, are better than nothing at all. Time spent quantifying your resource/financial exposure would be time very well spent. Take the whole thing step by step-by-step. Develop a discipline to make it second nature. This will make you perform better with each successive step.However, none other than the late Israeli Premier, the great Menachem Begin, said, “What must be feared, must be feared”. But at least take to understand what it is that we fear, lest we let lose sight of our goals as we focus on obstacles.As the African proverb goes, ‘only a fool tests the depth of a river with both feet’; nevertheless, only a coward is afraid of testing the river’s depths at all. Be inspired!