I quit a full-time job just before Christmas in order to spend 2007 working on OverSky. And since doing so, I’ve had ample opportunities to brag to people about becoming an entrepreneur or about the great plans that I’m really excited to be finally following through on. Instead I’ve found myself automatically playing everything down. I still mumble vaguely about hoping to start a business, instead of admitting (or shouting out) that I have.

I’m giving some thought to the issues that come with this. And in her usual timely and incisive fashion, Pamela Slim’s first 2007 podcast examined issues surrounding playing small. Pamela talks breaks down the root fears of playing big in a very personal (and, I suspect, universal) way, “I worried about the effect of exposure and focus, I worried that I still didn’t have enough experience to consider myself . . . an expert, I worried that somehow I would be exposed as a fraud.”

And doesn’t that just speak to you?

The podcast is under five minutes and well-worth listening to. But I wanted to add my own thoughts to the subject here.

A fear of playing big is certainly not logical. You know all the reasons why ’safe jobs’ are really risky and ‘risky entrepreneurial behaviour’ is really safe (and if you don’t, you should explore Pamela’s blog a bit). So if you’re pondering entrepreneurship, you probably already know, logically, what your next step needs to be. But emotionally, there are a lot of reasons why we don’t start these activites. Most of them will boil down to a fear of exposing a certain trait about yourself. You might fear looking presumptuous if you position yourself as an expert, or looking ignorant if you make a mistake, or looking greedy for demanding more out of your life.

How do you get past that?

Whatever thing about you that you fear exposing is an element of basic human nature. And as much as we are trained to be civilized (ie, unassuming, knowledgeable, giving), those elements remain, and they remain because they serve a purpose.

One of the uglier things about human nature is violence. We spend a great deal of parenting effort, social programs and government funding on trying to eliminate it from our society. But I don’t think it would be reasonable to expect to remove violence from your own nature. That iron thread that runs through the entire human fabric is very useful to our survival. It is the assurance I have that should anyone hurt my family I will find a way to stop them and then I will probably hurt them terribly. It’s not a facet of myself that I indulge with pride, but it is something that I’ve made peace with because, should I ever need it, I want it close at hand.

Like anything about us which is both distasteful and useful, the answer is moderation and discipline. Any kind of martial training answers this need nicely. And there are so many beautiful ways to address the need to both hone and harness your violence. There are disciplines that focus on raw power, or respectful ritual or spiritual stillness. And most will cover the basics of first avoiding violence where possible.

So what traits about yourself are you most scared to put on display? And how is that holding your entrepreneurial thinking back? Being comfortable with ignorance will allow you to find more knowledge and seek better answers.Your greed is a powerful thing that can motivate you to achieve amazing things for your family. Your presumption will allow you to take control of a situation and really do some good instead of hiding your skills.

What are some ways you can turn your negative traits into a discipline? At the very least, you can begin by indulging them just a little. Think about where these thoughts take you, and what exposing these traits would mean in terms of actions you would take. People hold themselves in one extreme position because they don’t want to be the other extreme. But that’s like refusing to learn self-defense because you fear it would make you a bully. I promise, you can use your greed without becoming selfish. You can presume about your skills without being pompous. Making peace with the things you are avoiding gives you more tools to work with.

It also gives you more energy to focus on the things you need to do instead of fighting yourself into playing small.