Mark Minard is a husband, and father of five. He is the owner and founder of Dreamshine, which proudly serves individuals with special needs. He’s the owner and host of the world- famous podcast, Elevating Beyond, with over three million downloads worldwide! He’s also the best selling author of, The Story of YOU, Transforming Adversity Into Adventure, Taking Your Dreams To The Next Level & Beyond! He’s just an ordinary dude, with an extraordinary faith, believing all things are possible.
Mark has had many moments in his 13+ years of owning his business, Dreamshine, in which he could have allowed fear to drive his decisions. Feeling fear and allowing it to drive your decisions are not the same thing. Modern life will do everything in its power to keep you on the strait and narrow path. The unfortunate truth is that in the daily scum of life, most every message and signal you receive will be about the power of conforming rather than stand out – not shaking the boat. In most instances, the thing that truly holds us back from taking major chances in our lives and on ourselves is FEAR.
In 2007, 13 years ago, Mark started his company, Dreamshine. The recession hit, he was only 26, battling politics in order to get the company running. The state of Ohio literally threatened to shut him down, as they wanted a monopoly in serving individuals with developmental disabilities.
Had Mark allowed fear to stop him when he had to challenge the entire state of Ohio, fighting for the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities, they would still be stuck in the horrible institutions and warehouses that the stated owned and controlled the funding for.
Now, 13 years later, Mark and his team are honored to serve more than 55 individuals with developmental disabilities on a beautiful 2.5 acre campus which looks and feels like a resort. Dreamshine employs 20+ team members aka the ‘Dream Team,’ and are honored to be growing and elevating everyday.
In Mark’s 13 years as the leader and CEO of Dreamshine, it’s choices and actions like these that have led to the development and retention of a world class team and an incredible culture. You may experience temporary discomfort to fight for what’s right, but over time it builds momentum.
Mark’s number one question of himself in any given situation is: what’s best for my Dreamshine? This allows him to step back and look at the big picture.
Here is a quick exercise you can do to help control fear and keep it from holding you back.
- Be honest with yourself: what are you actually afraid of? Write down a list of the things that can keep you up at night. What would be the worst thing that happens to you if your organization or idea did not pan out? What would failure look like to you and how would it manifest itself?
- Take stock of everything you have overcome so far. The best way to assuage your fears is to remind yourself of every time you managed to overcome your challenges. You’ve made it through 100% of everything you’ve faced so far, so the odds are totally in your favor, right?!
- Find your heroes. Reflect on who your heroes are. How did they overcome fear and doubt? What lessons from them can you apply to your own life? Study their story BEHIND the story
- The 24-hour rule: never make a permanent decision based on short term feelings. Sometimes you need to sleep, give it a day and give yourself more clarity so that you aren’t acting on feelings.
- Remember your WHY. Your why must be bigger than your fear!
TRUTH BOMB: “Fear is just a feeling. It can’t physically stop you. Action alleviates fear. Inaction elevates fear.” -Mark Minard
Get more advice and TRUTH BOMBS like this in Mark’s upcoming book, 16 Reasons Why Your Business Sucks: 16 Proven Truth Bombs to Become Freakin’ Awesome at Every Level of Your Business.
Opinions expressed by NY Weekly contributors are their own.
