There’s A Feeling I Tell People to Pay Attention To

“If it makes you nervous and excited at the same time, it’s probably worth exploring.”

This is the advice I shared with two entrepreneurs this past week about scaling their growing businesses. They each happen to be at the intersection where they’ve grown enough on their own, but now need to consider either hiring some help or investing in some tech to help them grow.

The question then becomes, what do we need to do to grow your business two-fold? The answer each time was, “Scott, I need to hire someone.”

This is where all of a sudden it becomes uncomfortable.

I’ve had this conversation about growth with hundreds of people in my career, either as a leader, mentor, coach, advisor, or just a friend. Each time I’ve challenged someone on the next level of growth, they pause with deep intent before answering. When they do answer, the response is almost always uncomfortable, a little scary, but also exciting when done right.

Big decisions to grow your career, expand your business, or take a step in a direction that feels risky should feel uncomfortable because that’s how you know it’s the right decision. If a decision feels easy and simple, then you’re probably not swinging for the fences enough.

The reason those decisions feel uncomfortable is that they usually require you to let go of something that got you to where you are today. The entrepreneur who has always done everything themselves now has to trust someone else with customers, operations, or money.

The employee who wants a promotion has to start acting like a leader before they have the title. The business owner who wants to double revenue has to start spending money before they know with certainty they’ll make it back.

Most people want growth to arrive with guarantees. They want to know the new hire will work out, the investment will pay off, the move will be successful, or the opportunity will lead exactly where they hope it will. The problem is that growth rarely comes with that kind of certainty. If it did, everyone would do it.

When I look back at the biggest decisions I’ve made in my own career, very few of them felt comfortable in the moment. Taking a management role for the first time was uncomfortable. Moving to Dubai was uncomfortable. Leaving jobs, joining companies, taking chances on opportunities, and betting on myself were all uncomfortable. What they all had in common was that I was excited by the possibility of what could happen if things went right.

That excitement matters more than people realize.

Fear by itself is usually a warning sign. Fear mixed with excitement is often a signal that you’re standing at the edge of growth. One feeling is telling you that something could go wrong. The other is reminding you that something great could happen, too.

So the next time you’re faced with a decision that makes you a little nervous but also lights you up inside, don’t run from it immediately. Sit with it for a minute. Explore it. Ask questions. Do your homework.

The opportunities that change your career, your business, and sometimes your life rarely arrive wrapped in comfort. More often than not, they arrive disguised as uncertainty, and that’s the sign it’s the right opportunity ahead of you.