“ALLIGATOR ALERT!!!”

I was sitting at the meeting waiting my turn.

Practicing over and over in my head what I was going to say.

It reminded me of being back in elementary school when the class would each read a sentence out loud.

And I would calculate what sentence would be mine to read by the time it got to me, to make sure I was prepared.

Only this time, I was a grown adult. And there was no book to read. Just my turn to stand and talk.

Normally, I don’t have much trouble talking in front of people.

But this time was different.

This time I was embarking into the unknown with business.

For months, I had read and studied, watched videos and listened to podcasts.

And now the rubber was about to meet the road.

To say I was a little nervous would be a massive understatement.

Fear was sitting there in my brain, shouting at full volume.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

“THEY WILL LAUGH AT YOU”

“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING!”

Is it just me that has that voice?

It always feels like it’s only me…

Because that’s the nature of the voice.

It’s the same voice that screams out “ALLIGATOR ALERT!!!” when there is one sunning itself on the bank of the retaining pond in the neighborhood.

Useful in some situation, sure.

But oftentimes, it’s just noise.

There was no real physical threat to me while I was sitting there, waiting my turn.

So, I sat there, trying to listen to each person in turn as they stood up and spoke.

Not easy with the volume in my head cranked up to 11.

As my turn to share got closer, the voice tried stalling tactics…

“YOU SHOULD STUDY THIS MORE BEFORE YOU GO PUBLIC!”

“FIND ANOTHER PODCAST TO LISTEN TO FIRST”

“HAVE YOU READ THE RIGHT BOOKS? ARE YOU SURE?”

The fear voice kept coming at me 100 miles an hour.

And then it was my turn.

Here goes nothin’…

“Hi, I’m Yeadon Smith, and I’m a real estate investor that buys apartment buildings.”

And nobody laughed.

And I survived.

Nobody came up to me after and called me out as an imposter.

They actually asked questions about what I meant. And how I did it.

It took overcoming that voice in my head to be able to say out loud to someone that I invest in real estate and was looking to buy an apartment building.

Because my last name is Smith. Not Bezos, Trump, Gates, Musk, or someone that you see and think, that guy probably buys apartments…

Not someone named Smith from a small town in South Carolina.

The biggest hurdle I had was that first time I said out loud that I was looking for apartments to buy.

Some never get over that hurdle, stuck inside their head with the voice shouting down their dreams.

One of the biggest reasons I was able to was my business partner (and cousin) Jennings.

I wasn’t alone in my dream. I had someone with me for the support I needed to get started. And I was able to support him right back.

Regardless of what new venture you’re considering, it will be scary.

The voice of fear will try to keep you where you are.

Don’t let it.

Find support, find a community, find a team that can help you through that first hurdle.

It’s scary, but it’s 1000% worth it.