In this Ask Evan episode, Evan Carmichael answers a viewer’s question about overcoming the fear of rejection, a common obstacle for entrepreneurs. He frames the issue as a natural feeling and offers three concrete strategies. First, he advises to "feel the fear and do it anyway," emphasizing that fear is normal and decisions should be based on logic, not anxiety. Second, he stresses the importance of believing you can help the other party, sharing his own experience of working with Microsoft and realizing his value. Third, he recommends changing your approach by focusing on your strengths rather than forcing yourself into uncomfortable tactics like cold‑calling, suggesting that adapting methods to fit personal strengths reduces fear. He concludes by encouraging viewers to apply these tips, share their own experiences, and join the discussion in the comments.
Chapters
How do you overcome the fear of rejection? I'm gonna answer that question in today's episode of Ask Evan. So recently I got asked a question from one of my YouTube fans, love you guys, Sanjawa, who wrote in to say, amazing video, Evan. Thanks, Sanjawa. I would like to get advice about fear of rejection because most of the people have this mindset. So this is a fantastic question and one that I think a lot of entrepreneurs go through, how to overcome that fear of rejection. I'm going to share with you my 3 tips on how to do it. Number 1 is feel the fear and do it anyway. So what I want you to understand is you can't get rid of that fear. I don't want you to think about how do I completely get rid of that fear, because fear is natural, fear is normal. And a lot of people, they think because they're afraid of it, then they're not going to do it. So your first starting point is understanding that it's natural to be afraid of rejection, and you don't want to let that fear hold you back. You want to be motivated by the fear. You want to not make a decision because because you're afraid of it. You know, if there's an opportunity in front of you, the reason not to do it should be something logical, something rational, not because you're afraid to do it. So it's understanding that it's okay to be afraid, feel that fear, and do it anyway. Number 2 is believe that you can help them. This is one of the biggest things that helped me early on in my career when I was being approached by brands who wanted to work with me. And one of the first companies that I worked with was Microsoft, and they reached out to me and said, Evan, can you help us with this campaign that we're doing? And I was so afraid at that time because I thought, who am I? Like, I'm this— I'm nothing compared to Microsoft. What value can I possibly give them? And I was so worried they would walk away from the deal and they wouldn't want to work with me. And then I realized that, hey, I can actually help these guys, right? The value that I bring is substantial and they're coming to me for a reason. And so this has helped me over and over and over in my career whenever I felt nervous or afraid or thought I might get rejection. It's It's not going into a situation trying to sell somebody something. It's knowing that you really can help them. So it's believing in your product or service and knowing it can actually have a really positive impact on their lives. I found that that really reduced the amount of fear for me going into that situation. Number 3 is change your approach. I'm a big believer in betting on your strengths and doing things that you're really, really good at and want to learn and not trying to improve your weaknesses and doing the stuff that you suck at and hate because that's never the path to build a highly successful company or for you to be happy, right? If you're forcing yourself to do stuff that you don't like over and over and over again, you're never going to build something great or be a happy person with your life, right? Uh, and so what's causing this fear of rejection? So for example, if you are doing cold calling and you hate cold calling, and every time you look at the phone you're looking at it and say, I don't want to pick up that phone— cold calling can work and it works for some people, but it may not work for you. And the right approach may be to change your strategy. Do something else that's more comfortable for you, that you excel at, that you want to be better at, that you're more passionate about. And so if you're looking at something and you're constantly afraid of it and constantly thinking, I don't— I really don't want to do that, again, think, is the reason I don't want to do it because you're just afraid of it or because there's a logical reason behind it? And sometimes the solution is just to change your approach and do something that's best fit for you. Focus on your strengths and not your weaknesses. So remember, feel the fear and do it anyway. Believe you can help them and change your approach. Believe. Thank you so much for watching. I'd love to know how you overcome your fear of rejection. Leave it in the comments below, and I look forward to joining the discussion.
