Book Sales Success Secrets Wrap-Up: Take Action to Overcome Fear
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By now, you probably have a good idea of what action you need to take. And yet, you hesitate. Instead of taking action, you spend a lot of time absorbing advice and strategies, telling yourself you’ll get started as soon as you feel “ready” and confident. The problem? Those feelings are never going to come if you don’t just take action.
In this final installment of the Book Sales Success Secrets series, Coach Tam encourages you to reflect on what you’ve learned – and then actually put it into practice. Don’t wait for your fear to go away; it’s time to overcome fear through action.
In this episode, you’ll also hear:
- Reflection questions to ask yourself on a regular basis to be present instead of passive and stay on track to reach your goals
- Why you can’t afford to wait for “the right timing”
- How to overcome fear of failure or not being good enough and take action anyway
Be sure to read all the way to the end for important links and information!
Isn’t it amazing how fast the weeks seem to go by? Before we know it, it’s Friday again, and it’s time to wrap up the Book Sales Success Secrets series. And on that note, Fridays are a great time to do a quick reflection on about your week:
- How did I do this week with being obedient to God in all areas of my life?
- Have I done everything that I could do this week to enhance my relationship with God and those around me?
- Am I moving closer to my God-given potential, or drifting further away?
It’s both rewarding and humbling to run through these sorts of questions each week. And it serves as a reminder to make sure you’re present and aware rather than letting life pass you by.
There Is No More “Next Year”
As we wrap up this series, let’s take some time to reflect, because it’s so easy to get into a passive mindset – especially when it comes to getting your book and your message out there and building your business.
The truth is, it’s hard to overcome fear and take action, and it’s easy to let yourself think you can do it later. It’s easy to say that right now is too crazy, and later in the year will be better. You might even be telling yourself right now that you’ll just wait until January, and that’s when you’ll really start pushing yourself.
But consider this: You are going to reach a time when there is no more “next year.” We don’t know how much time we have. So we have no time to waste. And yet, even though we have no idea when our time will be up, we’re often guilty of acting like we do know.
Sound familiar? Have you been putting off what you know you need to be doing – like applying the Book Sales Success Secrets that we’ve been discussing? If so, ask yourself these questions:
- How is that serving God and the community?
- Why are you not learning the skills that will impact your life and others for years to come?
These powerful questions can be uncomfortable, because they require us to face our weaknesses and shortcomings. But at some point, you have to do exactly that. You have to start stepping into the role that God is calling you to fill. And that means your desire to be all that God is calling you to be has to be bigger than the temporary discomfort of facing past excuses.
Do it Afraid
Our society has taught us that things should be easy, that everything should just happen and you should be good at things right away. But have you ever read that anywhere in the Bible? Has God promised that His path would be the easy path?
Not at all. In fact, the opposite is often true. But that’s good! It may not feel good, of course, but it’s good for us. The harder path often brings us closer to God, because it pushes us to learn to trust and depend on Him.
Is it finally your time? Are you ready to step up and take action that is in alignment with what you have been called to do? Are you done sitting on the sidelines and watching others move forward while you keep saying to yourself, “Someday, I will do it”?
If so, it’s time to take the next step. This final step is all about building confidence and showing yourself that you can do it. That with God’s help, you have what it takes to overcome fear and be successful in what God has called you to do.
It comes down to three words: Do it afraid.
We all want to be successful. We all want to accomplish our goals and dreams, and we want to do it in the right way. That’s why we read blogs and books and listen to podcasts that offer advice on how to be successful. But what often happens is that we only take action on the advice when it resonates with us, confirms what we already believe, and feels comfortable.
We settle for talking about how successful we’re going to be, and we don’t actually do the work.
Why is that? Why do we talk ourselves out of taking the action that we know we need to take? Well, a lot of it has to do with fear: fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of not being good enough.
Fear is that little voice in our head that tells us we can’t do something or that we’re not good enough. And for Christian authors, fear can be a particularly dangerous thing. Fear can stop us from taking the marketing actions we need to take to reach our readers and, ultimately, fulfill our God-given destinies – because God didn’t call us just to write; He called us to impact people with our message. And people can’t be impacted if they don’t know the message exists.
Action Cures Fear
As Christian authors, we have a responsibility to speak out against injustice and to share the hope of the gospel with a broken world. If we let fear control us, we miss out on so much of what God has for us – and we hold up someone else’s deliverance. Someone is waiting on the message God has given you. So it’s time to overcome fear and take action anyway.
How do you do that? Take these three pieces of advice:
- Remember who you are in Christ. We are children of God, loved and accepted by Him. We are His ambassadors, chosen to represent Him. And He has given us everything that we need to do His will.
- Trust that God is in control. He knows what’s going on in the world. He has a plan for you, your book, and your message. And if you trust Him, He will help you accomplish that plan.
- Take action based on your faith, not your fear. When we act out of faith, God gives us the strength and the courage that we need to overcome fear.
Too often, we think that first we need to get courage, and then we can take action. But, as a friend said to me years ago, action cures fear.
If you’re waiting to feel motivated and completely overcome fear before you take action, you may never get there. But if you take action despite your fears, you’ll be showing your faith in God. And you’ll set an example for other Christians who might be facing similar fears.
Overcome Fear with Action
It’s time to step up, overcome fear, and take action anyway. You cannot afford to let fear hold you back from doing what God has called you to do.
Action cures fear. So stop waiting to feel confident – choose to act, and the confidence will come. Let’s take action today, and trust that God will be with us every step of the way.
It’s time for us to be the change that we want to see in the world.
BIO
My name is Tamara “Coach Tam” Jackson and I am a published author, Facebook© Certified Digital Marketer, host of the Top 100 Publishing Secrets podcast, and founder of The Christian Authors Network (C.A.N.) Facebook© community. I specialize in helping mission-driven authors, coaches, and entrepreneurs increase their exposure, impact, and income through strategic self-publishing and digital media appearances. Just say yes and we will work together to attract a tribe of loyal followers that 1) “get you”, 2) love what you do, and 3) are happy to invest in your book, business, cause, or movement. Plus, we will accomplish all of this without fake, salesy, sleazy, or manipulative tactics. Yes you CAN write, publish, and profit in a way that honors God; join the community today at https://christianauthors.net/fbgroup.
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