I don't need to reinvent the wheel! Turns out I'm actually not that special and the chances of other people struggling with my same issue or problem are actually pretty high. Knowing other folks have been able to get through similar hurdles keeps me motivated!

I learned to move forward, despite having fear, by reminding myself that I'm not the same person I was yesterday, last week, or even years ago. Everyday that I get to pursue what makes me happy helps me be a stronger person for myself and those around me.

Fear never meant stop for me; it meant pause, prepare, and proceed with purpose. I learned to move forward with fear by understanding that confidence is built through action, not the absence of doubt. Each step I took, especially the uncomfortable ones, expanded my capacity and clarified my calling.

I've learned to stop seeing fear as a stop sign and start treating it like a compass. If a new challenge doesn't feel a little bit scary, it probably isn't big enough to create the growth I'm looking for.

How I was able to overcome some of my Fear and Anxiety into my new role and my current position as an Account Executive (sales) from never working in sales, was by thinking well if it doesn't work out, I have some other experience to say, I tried it and it wasn't a fit. Don't get me wrong I was really fearful of looking unsure and puzzled with Attorney Agents, brokers and or new customers in general, but I figured I know more than enough from my prior place of employment that I can always work through the conversation and let them know I am not sure, but I can get back to you with that and move to next. I just kept thinking After 23 years at a company where I felt I poured my heart and soul out to with my former colleagues and customers, things had changed so drastically, what do I have to lose at this point in trying something different totally out of my comfort zone, but I already had a good reputation for any task given from my prior experiences, so this is a huge step up. So that gave me a jump start. And the fact that my new manager whom is also a great influence on what I do Kim O'Donnell was my biggest cheerleader, she stated to me Mari, you are wonderful with people, you are a go-getter, you love to accommodate everyone and you have so much experience in the field and what you don't know I will teach you. Kim always says to me and others when we sit down and pow wow, "Mari, I have known you for 20 plus years and if I ever needed anything I knew I can call you and you'd get it done., I know that you were meant for this position! She said, "Give it 9 months and if Sales isn't for you, we can figure it out, but what do you have to lose!" That to me was all she needed to say, because I asked a lot of questions within my sales team, got to know my team in operations and how the work flow went what departments did what and it started happening where I was getting call backs and people reaching out with questions and I was able to connect with my team and the correct departments to get the answers and now I am busier than ever. Don't get me wrong, I am always learning and not everyone I reach out to will be as receptive as most, but they can never say that I am rude, not very helpful or obnoxious lol! I always make sure that whether you work with me or not if you have a question I will do my best to get you an answer. That is how I did it!!! Thank you so much for this great opportunity to tell my story, I am always grateful to know that there is platform like Influential Women to uplift and cheer on underdogs such as myself. God Bless

You have to examine what's at stake and let faith guide your path. Fear can never have a resting place within a women with determination and strength.

I stopped waiting to feel fearless and started moving with the fear instead. Every step I took while shaking became proof that growth doesn't require perfection, just courage in motion.

Although I facing what some would see as the impossible, I BELIEVED in my students and staff. I BELIEVED we could do the impossible and we did. There is so much power in belief. Sometimes when others see how much we believe in them, it helps them believe too. When you see those things as they should be, they become exactly what they need to be. It all starts with BELIEF!

I try to remember that fear is just excitement without the breath. Moving forward means leaning into that energy instead of fighting it.

Progress isn't about giant leaps; it thrives in quiet determination in baby steps. Every action moves you forward, shaping your path. Growth demands that you keep learning, adapting, and pivoting.

Even as a lifelong entrepreneur, award-winning author, and travel app creator, the devil inside my head keeps trying to convince me I'm an imposter. It whispers doubt, second-guesses my experience, and urges me to wait until I'm "more ready." But I've learned that clarity comes from movement, not permission, so I keep building in public, figuring things out in real time, and moving forward grounded in what I've already built and what I'm called to build next.

Fear has been a constant companion in my growth, but I've learned not to face it alone. Finding the right mentors gave me a safe space to share doubts, learn from their experiences, and realize that what I was feeling was normal—many had walked the same path before me.

Growth has meant learning to move forward even when fear is present. In this role, I'm constantly learning and stepping into unfamiliar situations, trusting that experience is the best teacher. Every challenge has shaped me into a stronger, more confident leader.

Fear absolutely accompanied my growth, especially as a teenage mother. I remember looking at statistics about teen moms and feeling the weight of what people expected from me. There were moments I questioned whether I could really make it through graduate school, raise my child well, and build a meaningful career in healthcare as a single mom. What I learned is that fear does not mean stop. It usually means you are stretching into something bigger than your current comfort zone. I stopped waiting to feel "ready." I moved forward while I was afraid. I focused on the next step instead of the whole mountain. I reminded myself that my circumstances were not my ceiling. Every exam I passed, every semester I completed, every clinical challenge I overcame built confidence. Action slowly replaced fear. In healthcare especially, growth requires courage. You are responsible for people's lives. That can feel overwhelming. But I leaned into my passion for the work and my genuine care for patients. When your "why" is strong enough, fear becomes background noise instead of a barrier. Being a young, single mother forced me to develop resilience early. I did not have the luxury of quitting when things felt hard. That mindset, choosing progress over panic, is what carried me forward. Fear was present. It just did not get the final say.

In dentistry, everything moves fast. Patients are anxious. Doctors are under pressure. Teams are stretched. Expectations are high. For 17 years, I built my career from the ground up, starting in clinical support, moving into front desk leadership, and eventually overseeing business management inside practices. I saw firsthand how much responsibility lives behind every smile. When I founded Fabysmiles, fear showed up in a new way. It was no longer about handling a difficult patient or managing a busy schedule. It was about building something from nothing. It was about attaching my name to a brand. It was about stepping into rooms where I was no longer just the office manager, but the decision maker. Fear whispered questions. What if you fail? What if no one takes you seriously? What if you are not ready? But experience taught me something powerful. Fear is not a stop sign. It is a signal. It shows you where growth lives. In dentistry, I noticed something important. Practices expect perfection from teams, and professionals expect instant success from themselves. Many talented women hold back because they believe they must feel fully confident before they move. I learned the opposite. Confidence is built after action, not before it. Instead of waiting to feel fearless, I chose to move with fear beside me. When I negotiated contracts, I was nervous. When I raised my placement fees, I was nervous. When I positioned Fabysmiles as a long term intentional recruitment partner instead of just filling same day shifts, I was nervous. But I moved anyway. Working with fear meant getting prepared instead of getting paralyzed. It meant studying the market. Mentoring candidates who had unrealistic expectations and helping them understand industry standards. It meant having honest conversations with practice owners about culture, retention, and business structure. It meant admitting I did not know everything, but trusting that 17 years of experience gave me insight that mattered. Fear became my compass. If something intimidated me, it usually meant it was important. Launching consulting services. Expanding into aesthetics and medical staffing. Charging what my expertise was worth. Speaking publicly about the gap between clinical excellence and business management in dentistry. Fear was present in all of it. I stopped trying to silence it. I started listening to it. Today, I teach other women that fear and growth are partners. You can feel uncertain and still be qualified. You can feel nervous and still be powerful. You can question yourself and still make bold decisions. My success is not the absence of fear. It is the decision to move forward anyway. Fear once felt like a threat. Now it feels like expansion. And every time I choose courage over comfort, I remember the strong women who believed in me before I fully believed in myself. Their strength lives in my decisions. Their grace lives in how I lead. I do not wait to be fearless. I build while afraid.

For a long time, fear felt like an obstacle. It felt like something to overcome, silence, or outrun. It showed up before big decisions, new opportunities, and moments that required me to be visible. Like many women stepping into entrepreneurship and leadership, I believed confidence had to come before action. I thought fear meant I wasn't ready. I eventually learned it wasn't true. Fear wasn't the enemy. It was evidence that I was stretching into something bigger, something profound. Early in my journey, fear often disguised itself as perfectionism, overthinking, and hesitation. It sounded like questions: What if I'm not ready? What if I fail publicly? What if people don't take me seriously? Those questions kept me playing small, waiting for the magical moment when I would finally feel "ready." That moment never came. What did come was a realization: waiting for fear to disappear kept me stuck. The path forward wasn't eliminating fear it was learning how to move with it. This shift changed everything. Instead of seeing fear as a stop sign, I began treating it as a signal. Fear meant growth was nearby. Fear meant visibility was increasing. Fear meant impact was expanding. Most importantly, fear meant I was stepping outside the comfort zone that had become my cage. This new mindset allowed me to build a new relationship with courage. Courage doesn't mean you have no fear; it means choosing to move forward even when fear is right beside you. As my brand grew, this mindset became my foundation. The women I serve often arrive feeling stuck between security, tired of burnout, craving purpose, and uncertain about stepping into entrepreneurship or leadership. They assume fear is proof they aren't capable. I now teach them what I had to learn firsthand: fear is often proof that they are standing at the edge of their next level. Working with fear looks different than fighting it. It looks like launching before everything feels perfect. It looks like speaking before the voice stops shaking. It looks like saying yes to opportunities that feel slightly intimidating. It looks like choosing progress over perfection again and again. Over time, fear loses its power when it is no longer treated as an authority! The truth is that fear never fully disappears. New levels bring new challenges, new visibility, and new risks. But instead of shrinking back, I've learned to make fear part of the process. Fear became a companion rather than a barrier and a reminder that growth is happening. This perspective now shapes my brand and my work. I help women build confidence, clarity, and businesses not by pretending fear doesn't exist, but by showing them how to move forward anyway. Because the goal was never to become fearless. The goal was to become unstoppable, even when fear shows up.

One of the most powerful lessons I've learned over the past year is that fear is at the root of so many of our reactions — jealousy, anger, dissatisfaction, drama — and once you recognize that, you can step back and see the bigger picture. Failure and mistakes are not to be feared; they are part of learning. At EQUIS Financial, the daily Zoom breakout rooms and the "hot seat" experiences forced me to confront fear head-on. My mentor, Kyle, constantly reminded me: "Don't do what you think I want you to do — do what you're actually doing." That guidance, repeated over time with videos and check-ins on SKOOL, taught me that growth comes from consistency and authenticity, not perfection. Karis Pipes was the first to step onto the hot seat, showing courage and setting a milestone for the rest of us. Watching her and other agents like Rob Berger, who became breakout leaders despite early criticism, helped me understand that learning is not about ego — it's about becoming. My own hot seat came on a day when I was wearing a VEEG headband for a medical test. I had initially decided not to run business during those three days, but the leads kept coming in, and I realized I couldn't let fear stop me. Covered in gauze, with a cap over my head, I ran my presentation anyway. Kyle encouraged me to address the "pink elephant in the room" — and humor broke the tension. Everyone laughed, and I realized I could face discomfort and still perform. Through this experience, I learned to step out of my comfort zone, to ask questions, to listen deeply, and to see mistakes as opportunities. I also developed a strength I hadn't had before: the ability to not take small comments personally, to give grace to leaders who didn't know any better, and to focus on my own growth. Today, I approach challenges with confidence, empathy, and perspective. Fear is no longer a wall but a guide. Each mistake, each uncomfortable moment, each hot seat has shown me that growth is not linear, and courage is developed in the spaces where we feel most vulnerable.

I stopped waiting for fear to disappear. I realized fear is often confirmation that I'm stretching into something bigger. Growth and fear travel together, but fear doesn't get to drive. One of the most powerful strategies I use is to "get MAD" — Make A Decision. Fear thrives in hesitation. When I make a clear decision and take the next step forward, momentum replaces uncertainty. Faith has been my greatest anchor. I recognize that God is ultimately in control, and when I surrender outcomes to Him, fear loses its authority over my choices. I stand on the truth that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. That reminder allows me to lead, build, and pivot with confidence even in unfamiliar territory. Working with fear means reframing it; using it as information rather than permission to retreat. Courage isn't the absence of fear; it's alignment with purpose despite it.

Fear has shown up at many points in my career, but one of the most defining moments was deciding to leave a corporate executive role and start my own business. Much of my career has been about building things from the ground up: brand and communications functions, strategies, and systems that didn't exist yet. That kind of work always requires stepping into the unknown. There's rarely a perfect roadmap. You have to trust your experience, ask the right questions, and start building. Leaving corporate to launch my own business felt like a natural extension of that pattern. It was another moment of building something new — this time for myself. Of course, it came with uncertainty. But I've learned that fear often shows up right before growth. Instead of treating it like a stop sign, I try to see it as a signal that I'm stepping into meaningful territory. Starting my own business has required courage and a lot of hard work, but it's also reaffirmed something I've learned throughout my career: the most rewarding things I've built started with a little uncertainty and the willingness to begin anyway.

Do not allow fear to silence your vision. Every meaningful endeavor comes with moments of uncertainty. Growth requires stepping into spaces where you may not yet feel fully confident.