Entrepreneur -- Fear is natural. In a predator-versus-prey world, heightened awareness is critical to survival. In our world of business, however, most fears have little to do with survival and more to do with personal insecurities.

“Will I meet my deadline?”

“Does my boss like me?”

These doubts do little to help us achieve our goals. In fact, they often impede them. Yes, fear can serve a motivational purpose, but substituting this with confidence will provide better results. A few key strategies can help manage -- and eventually eliminate -- unnecessary fears.

Related: 50 Signs You Might Be an Entrepreneur

1. Realize you’re not alone.

Regardless of what fears you face, someone somewhere has already figured out a way to overcome them. Allow this fact alone to bring you comfort. If they can prevail, you can too.

2. Remove all visions of doubt.

In the book How Champions Think, Dr. Bob Rotella shares a story of the late world-class golfer Sam Snead. “He would get into bed at night after a tournament round and replay every shot in his imagination. But when his replay came to a shot he hadn’t played well, he edited it. He erased the memory of the poor shot and instead visualized himself playing the shot correctly.”

A big part of overcoming fear is to choose the right picture and focus on it. Sam Snead fixated on what he wanted, not on the negative. He understood that the image you allow to carry the greatest weight will be the one that manifests itself.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250069

Entrepreneur -- Entrepreneurship demands effective leadership. You need to be able to make solid decisions, organize plans, hire teammates and provide direction -- all under the steady pressure of being accountable for all those decisions and actions. To add even more heat, as an entrepreneur, your personal success is often tied directly to the success of your business, meaning every little decision you make could have significant consequences.

Under such pressure, it’s natural to have worries and fears. But fears can intimidate you and obscure your judgment, rendering your decisions less logical and your approach less systematic. If you want to be an effective leader, there are five fears in particular that you’ll need to overcome.

1. Making the wrong decision

As a leader, you’ll be facing decisions on a nearly constant basis. You’ll make major decisions, like choosing your initial partners, and small ones, like whether to continue a proven promotional campaign. Being faced with so many decisions can lead to decision fatigue, a well-known psychological phenomenon that can interfere with your mental health and your ability to make good decisions.

Adding to this is a potentially growing fear that the next decision you make will be the wrong one -- your new hire won’t work out, your marketing campaign won’t be effective, or possibly even bigger, more significant fallout will occur. This fear can make you postpone or delegate your decisions, but don’t let it -- remember that even the best leaders make bad decisions sometimes. Avoiding a decision is always a worse move.

2. Being criticized for your approach

As a leader, you’re going to have your own signature style. You’re going to value some things more than others. For example, you might appreciate a rigid, formal dress code, or you could completely disregard what the people around you are wearing. You could prefer a hands-on style of management or a much more relaxed approach.

There’s no one right or wrong way to lead. If you’re afraid of being criticized for your approach, it could lead you to become the leader you think people might want rather than the leader you naturally are. You’re going to be criticized no matter what by some, and accepted no matter what by others, so pick the style that suits you best, and don’t let the haters interfere with your vision.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254107