Although she has achieved great success as Vice President of Cardone Ventures, Natalie Workman is not immune to the impact of fear in her career. After studying Economics and Social Justice at the University of Portland, and Organizational Development at the London School of Economics, Natalie still struggled to believe that she could be an asset in the professional environments she found herself in.
“Honestly, I felt I was put in situations that I was not ready for,” Natalie recalls. “Most of the business interactions in my early 20’s were very high-level conversations with people who were extremely experienced and knowledgeable in their fields. I didn’t know how to handle the dinner conversations. I didn’t understand half of what was being talked about, whether it was a transaction on a business, or strategic growth initiatives, or team management.”
These experiences gave Natalie a very low view of herself, making it hard for her to move forward in her career. She admits, “I lost all of my confidence. I lost my confidence in my ability to articulate my thoughts. I lost confidence in my ability to show up as myself.”
After several years of feeling this way, Natalie vowed to make radical changes in her day-to-day moments, a vow she refers to as “the decision to become an asset.” As she began to acknowledge the things that she didn’t know, the list only grew longer, but it no longer intimated Natalie into shying away from business conversations. “Fear comes in business owners in many forms: fear of resistance, fear of scaling breakpoints, fear of failure,” she explains. “I refuse to let my fears stop me from pursuing my goals and succeeding. I choose to embrace these moments in time as an indicator that I’m ready to break through to the next level of success, personally or professionally. Fears are to be embraced as a leading indicator that I’m stretching and growing.”
Now, Natalie hopes to encourage other young individuals and business owners not to shy away from the things they are afraid of. She believes that if you have goals that intimidate you and remain determined to stick with it – you’re already well on your way to becoming successful in your industry. “My perspective on success is heavily influenced by my mentor and co-owner of Cardone Ventures, Grant Cardone,” she confesses. “Grant says, ‘Success is your duty, obligation, responsibility.’ To me, success is a non-negotiable. I want to always be able to show up as Natalie Workman, the woman that leans into opportunities, that fights through fear that takes the step even when she’s scared. I have succeeded, I am succeeding, and I will continue to succeed!”
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