In this solo motivational video, Evan Carmichael answers a subscriber’s question about self‑sabotage and fear when starting a business. He normalizes the experience, stating that everyone faces moments of crisis and self‑sabotage, and then offers three concrete strategies to break the cycle. First, he urges viewers to treat fear as a "counselor, not a jailer" and to deliberately step out of their comfort zone—the "magic happens" beyond the familiar. Second, he stresses the importance of recalling a powerful, personal "why" for starting the business, arguing that a deep purpose sustains effort when challenges arise. Third, he advocates consistent practice and incremental "baby steps," illustrating the point with his own early struggles making videos and a high‑pressure speaking engagement in Brunei, both of which became easier through repetition. Throughout, he emphasizes that stretching the comfort zone expands confidence, and he ends with an encouraging call to action for viewers to apply these principles.
Chapters
How to stop being your own worst enemy. So I got a great question from one of my newsletter subscribers, Anna, who wrote in to say, you know, she has this business she's trying to get started, but she, she's constantly shooting herself in the foot. She, she's afraid and she self-sabotages, and she's her own worst enemy. She wants to know, what can I do? How do I solve this problem? So first of all, Anna, great question, and I want you to know that you're not alone. Okay, people do not wake up every day super excited, super motivated, ready to tackle on any fear. You know, some people want you to believe that, but it's not true. Nobody is always that confident. We all have our moments of crisis. We all at some point self-sabotage. We all are afraid of things. As a result, don't take action on it. This is totally normal. Everybody goes through it. You know, you're not the only one going through this, so know that. Now, how can you get beyond it? Because you don't want to be at the point where it's constant and it just holds you back from doing something important with your life. Okay, you have to let fear be a counselor but not a jailer. Let it get you to the point where it makes you worried, it makes your heart beat, it makes you sweat, it makes you stress out, but you can still move forward with whatever your goal is. So here are 3 tips for you. Okay. Number 1, know where the magic is. I have this great shirt that says, uh, your comfort zone and then where the magic happens. You know what? Let me, I'm going to find it. I'm going to find my shirt here. Here's my shirt. Okay. I love this shirt. Maybe a little wrinkled from the fold. Let me come in here. So your comfort zone, where the magic happens. This is important, and this is what I, this is what I will tell myself, right? If there's something that I want to do that I'm a little scared of, that's what I remind myself about, right? You have to step out of your comfort zone to achieve something great, right? If you just stay in your comfort zone, it's safe, it's warm, it's cozy, there's no risk, there's no fear. You're just going to get the same results that you always get. Are you happy with your life right now? Are you happy with the results you're getting? You know, if you are, then great, then just stay there. But if you're not, then you have to stretch. You have to step outside your comfort zone. You have to do things that you're not comfortable with yet, that you're afraid of. It's something new, right? And for me, as scary as that is, it's also exciting. It's also a chance to learn and to grow. And if you're not continually challenging and growing, then, then I don't know, life stops being interesting and rewarding. So remind yourself that this helps me. Remind yourself that to achieve something great, you're going to have to step outside your comfort zone. Number 2: remember why you're doing this. Remember why you started your business. So you didn't start a business just to make money. Like, if that's the only reason why, it's not gonna work. You're gonna, you're gonna quit on it when times get really tough. You realize, you know what, this business isn't what I thought it was, I'm gonna drop it. You have to have a bigger reason for starting this business. Maybe you're starting it because, because of your son. Maybe you're starting it because of your mom. Maybe you're starting it because You want to have an impact in this certain market. Maybe you're starting it because— whatever your reason is. Like, you have to have a reason, right? You have to have a reason for starting this business. And remember why you started. It has to be powerful because that reason is what gets you through. If you don't have that reason, you're going to quit. You have to be a little bit crazy to be an entrepreneur. To get through all the crap, all the hard times, you have to be a little bit crazy. Because a normal, sane, logical person would give up, would stop, because it's too hard. So you have to have that driving reason. And so when you have a tough, challenging time, think back, like, why am I doing this? What's my main reason for starting this business? And if you can tap into that, it'll help you get over that fear that you're facing. And I sincerely hope that you have that powerful reason. If not, start a business where you do have a powerful reason. And number 3 is practice. So anytime you do something for the first time, it's scary, it's nerve-wracking, it's stressful, you're gonna freak out. The thing is, after you do it the first time and you practice it, it becomes easier. Let me give you a couple examples. So these videos, the first videos that I did, they sucked. I was a basket case. I was nervous. I was sweating. Took me a whole day to do one video. Nobody could be in the room with me. I had to be alone in the house. I had to set it up. I had to have everything ready. I was anal, you know, it was, it was just— I was so nervous and stressed out. And now, you know, 1,000 videos later, it doesn't matter who's in the room, it doesn't matter what the setup is. I look at the question, I get in front of the camera, I think about it, and I answer, right? It's pretty fast. It's only gotten that way because I practiced, because I got better. I remember one of my most stressful moments was I was doing a presentation in Brunei. I was asked to go speak in Brunei to a group of entrepreneurs. I don't know how many people in the room, huge room. It was being televised, and they flew me halfway around the world to come and talk to them, and I was nervous. It was my first big international speaking gig. And I kind of hoped, you know, like the day before they would call me and say, hey Evan, it's off, don't worry about it, you don't have to come. You know how you kind of, you get so nervous that you secretly hope they're gonna, they're gonna cancel on you so you don't have to go do it. Anyway, they didn't cancel, I had to go, and I was really nervous, and I got up and I did it. It was, it was pretty good, you know, I did an okay job. I didn't, I didn't faint, you know, didn't pass out, nothing super embarrassing. They loved it. And now getting up on stage is easier, right? Because I've been through it. So your comfort zone stretches, and once you stretch it, it doesn't go back down. It stays out. And you do something new, it stretches, it stretches, and everything else becomes a little bit easier. So whatever you're trying to do, whatever challenge you're facing right now, you get started. Do baby steps. You don't have to do like this huge ginormous step. Do a little step. As you do that, you'll be able to do that step again with confidence and do the next step and the next step and the next step. And each time you're stretching yourself a little bit and gaining confidence to know that you could do it again. You know, I look back and I enjoy speaking so much and enjoy meeting entrepreneurs so much. And I, as much as I wished at that moment, like the day before my presentation, that they called and canceled, I'm so grateful that they didn't cancel and that I took that opportunity because I've gotten so much joy and happiness from speaking. And a lot of it came out of that one moment. If it didn't happen, I, I'd be— I wouldn't have as big a comfort zone. I wouldn't be doing as much stuff as I love doing right now. So, you know, it's totally understandable that you're afraid and that you're self-sabotaging, but remember those things. Remember, remember those key things and keep going. You're not alone in this. Find a way, find your deep meaning for why you're starting this business. Take your practice steps. Take your little steps, and every day, you know, you're fighting the battle. You'll get there. Believe. For those of you watching, like the video, thumbs up below. Thank you so much for those. Leave a comment, let me know what you think. You have a question for me, put it below, make a video response just like this one. And click on my face to subscribe to the channel. Thank you so much, I'll see you soon.
