I have a confession to make.
This idea has been with me for a while — mentoring other professionals, especially audiologists who feel stuck, isolated, or overwhelmed. I’ve carried the vision in my head for months. Maybe years. I’ve written outlines, drawn up goals, created drafts of websites, talked to colleagues, journaled through it.
And yet, here I am, still afraid
Why? Because fear shows up loudest when something really matters.
Because when it’s your name, your reputation, your lived experience on the line, the stakes feel painfully real.
Because it’s one thing to dream.
It’s another to invite people into it.
The fear shows up in small ways: What if no one signs up? What if I can’t help the way I hope to? What if I get overwhelmed? What if people judge it before they understand it? What if I let people down? These thoughts are like background noise — quiet, persistent, sometimes paralyzing.
But you know what else is true?
I know how powerful mentoring can be. I’ve seen it change lives. I’ve had mentors who’ve helped me breathe again when I was burned out, and I’ve been able to offer that same space to others. I believe there are people out there who need exactly what I’m creating — and maybe they’re scared too. Scared to reach out, to ask for support, to say “I don’t have it all together.”
So I’m reminding myself: fear is part of the process. It doesn’t mean something’s wrong — it means something is real.
And today, I’m choosing to move forward with the fear.
To those of you thinking of launching your own thing — mentoring, coaching, creating — I
see you. I feel what you’re feeling. And I hope you know this: being afraid doesn’t mean you’re not ready. It means you’re brave enough to care.
I’m scared.
But I’m starting anyway.
Let’s begin.
