If you manage to make it through Renegade Professional, then there are all the other distractions on the webs–the newest launch from the latest internet guru, the latest changes from Amazon and Google, the emerging social media tools.  It’s a jungle to get lost in.

And if you manage to stay out of that, the final and most devasting distraction can hit–the voices in your own head.  The constant dialog telling you why you can’t do this, why you’re making mistakes, why it will never work, why you’re wasting your time.

The distractions are endless.

Stay Focused

Mike Klingler has great advice for Renegade Professional beginners.

Stay focused.

And if you need help, get a coach to help you.

It’s a big job handling everything it takes to get an internet business started.  The technical learning curve alone can be overwhelming, but the emotional battles can take you out.

Find a coach to help you wade through it all.

Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.

Once again, Seth Godin crystallizes the truth in his book “Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us“.

Up until a few years ago, I believed that leaders were born.  There was some innate talent or drive or karmic force that caused one person to be a leader and the other not.

I observed children growing up and watched some of them emerge as leaders.

In groups, I observed how people would automatically gravitate to my friend for direction, often looking right through me to get to her.

But as I have been growing, I have come to a new understanding, one that reflects what Seth Godin describes.

Leaders Choose to Let Themselves Lead

While some people are more inclined to be leaders because of facets of their personality, no one is excluded.  The only requirements for leadership are vision and a willingness to be uncomfortable.

This summer has been a crash course in leadership.  I began a masters level class called Renegade Breakthrough Mentoring Program with Ann Sieg.  And I set my goal to stop running my business like a shy, wallflower, hugging the wall at a party while everyone else gets up to dance.

I began blogging and reaching out to people.

I stepped up my commitment to Dane Buy Local, a business group I’m a part of.

And from taking the risk to stand out, I have been welcomed as a leader.

I won’t discount how uncomfortable it can be.  To be a leader I have had to face everything that Seth lists:

It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers.
It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail.
It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo.
It’s uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle.

My summer has been filled with anxiety and niggling self-doubts.  I leaned into all the places that caused me pain.

But in the end, I have found key positions in projects and am finding my place in Ann Sieg’s  organization.  I’m finding my voice and my vision with internet marketing.  And I’m refusing to compromise.

Leadership is not easy.  Decide to ignore the pit in your stomach, and start taking risks.

For more instructions on becoming a good coach for others, join the free Coaching Webinar.