Page 24 - GS200502

Education

StreetSmarts SM

What's it going to be: fear or faith?

By Marc Beauchamp they can't see the truth. They have lied to themselves for
Bankcard Life so long – either by commission or omission – that reality
is almost impossible to access. It's like a broken marriage.
here's nothing wrong with experiencing fear. There's little or no communication, no romance, and they
We all have it. Some fears are real; most are more like roommates than husband and wife. But
are imagined. The error is to become para- they choose to stay in the marriage for various reasons,
T lyzed by fear. I'll be honest: when I witnessed all driven by their inability to face the truth: something
the impacts of the new coronavirus in Italy and other needs to be done to either save the marriage or end it.
European countries, and when U.S. businesses began to
shut down, I went right to fear. It's the same in business. We keep doing the same thing,
often getting the same mediocre results because we are
Worst case scenarios invaded my mind. I imagined my unwilling to face reality. That's called insanity.
portfolios going to zero, the companies I'm invested
in getting slammed. I envisioned I'd have to lay off So, ask yourself: What stories are you believing that are
employees, that my renters would default on my limiting your business, relationships, health and spiritual
investment properties, my stocks would be crushed and, connectedness? What is the cost to your well-being,
most importantly, my family's health would be impacted. family, children, employees, finances and health when
The list goes on. I'm sure you've had scenarios playing out you believe these stories?
in your head, too. From fear to faith
From falsehoods to reality
How do we move from fear to faith? First, get out of the
Fear is a funny thing: the more you give it power the stories and into the facts. Look at the circumstances from a
bigger it grows. We've all heard the acronym for fear: factual perspective and what the reality is of your current
False Events Appearing Real. When I take a good look situation. In my initial reaction to COVID-19, I realized
at fear, I realize that underneath it's a story. So there's a fairly quickly that I was projecting, that I needed to take
trigger. Today, it's the corona virus (a fact), that launches a a deep breath, look at the facts of my financial angst and
story (fiction). And this story determines what we believe deconstruct my stories.
is possible. It drives our behavior.
I asked myself: Would my portfolios be worthless? Would
It's your choice. You can believe a disempowering story my renters not pay? What was the worst case for my
that results in inaction, procrastination or denial. Or you investments? At what point might I have to reduce staff?
can choose an empowering story that drives you to act What did my cash flow, access to cash and fixed expenses
and modify behavior. look like? Would my business plans be totally disrupted?

The challenge for many is being able to clearly see reality. I Once I did a deep dive into the facts without my stories, I
often see businesspeople who are so trapped in their stories realized that options were available to weather this storm.
24