My fellow consulting firm owners and corporate exec buddies often ask me, "Aren't you nervous about being self-employed and supporting a family of six on an unpredictable salary?" My answer to them is, "Yes."

In the early days of my practice, I found myself anxious about the up and down nature of consulting, especially after growing accustomed to receiving steady paychecks while at HP. Now seven years into my practice, I've learned to turn anxiety into a useful leadership tool.

The trick is to embrace anxiety as another useful emotion, like anger or frustration, and to put it to good work, such as driving change within your organization. The danger is in letting anxiety be scary or painful. (This isn't entirely an original insight. Andy Grove warned us long ago with his book Only The Paranoid Survive.)

Here are just a few thoughts on how anxiety has worked for me and how it could work for you as well.

Anxiety Is the Fuel Indicator on Your Dashboard

I look at anxiety now as just another indicator on my business dashboard – client satisfaction, revenue/profit, skill development, being some others. When I start feeling some twinges inside about my pipeline being too thin, I know it's just an indicator that I should be paying attention to my business development and networking activities. Simply calculate the gap between your pipeline and what you need for steady business so that you know what needs to be done.

It's not about overreacting to the "fuel indicator" by frantically booking "power lunches" or blasting out solicitation emails. Rather, it's about simply being aware that you feel anxious and knowing that it’s a gentle reminder to win more business.

Pitfall: The risk here is being completely unaware of the anxiety and what might be causing it. It’s a little bit like the "consultant’s dilemma" which is being so busy delivering on projects that you’re oblivious to the need to develop new clients until the project ends and you have to scramble for the next engagement.

So awareness is 90% of the battle here. Use your anxiety to help yourself be proactive while you’re still fully engaged.

Business Development Is a Process Not an Event

Okay, you say, but a fuel indicator is warning you that the car can't go much further without gas. I accept that. But I think it's dangerous when fear is the motivator behind business development activities. Prospective clients and partners will see that coming a mile away.

I found it is better just to keep a steady pace of business development activities that bears no relationship to your top line or pipeline. Business development should be a natural expression of who you are, and done out of a sincere desire to meet with people you enjoy and respect. It should just be part of your ongoing practice.

Pitfall: If you focus on your fear of not having business, you'll come across as a sleazy salesperson.

Effective leaders focus on winning, not on avoiding losing. That phenomena is know as the "Wallenda Effect," named after the tightrope walker who had a long, daring career until his fatal walk when, for the first time, he focused on his fear of falling instead of on getting across the tight rope to the other side.

Plan for the Risks
Anxiety can also remind us of areas of risk in our life, areas over which we have little or no direct control.

After our first child arrived, my wife and I quickly researched and bought life insurance. We felt a great sense of relief knowing that we were covered in the worst-case scenario of one or both of us going prematurely.We're now looking into disability insurance since disability is actually more probable than outright death.

I give these as examples of actions we took to manage risks in our life that are beyond our control.

Similarly, the business world has things beyond our control as well, such as the general economy. The question is how to plan for the unexpected, like a quick downturn in business. One way you can plan for this possibility is to re-invest in the business or put aside money in case you encounter a short dry spell.

Pitfall: The risk here is not in taking a certain action, but in freezing-up. Theodore Roosevelt said it best: "In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

Focus on the Present
There's a great line in Star Wars Phantom Menace in which Qui-Gon Jinn (Jedi master) says to his apprentice, "Be mindful of the future but not at the expense of the present."

And so it works with anxiety. I find that if I stay focused on what I am doing, then I'm less likely to expend unproductive energy worrying about the future. Take, for instance, musicians, athletes, and salespeople who all have a way of keeping their anxiety levels under check by staying focused on their daily processes and habits.
 

Pitfall: The danger is abandoning your normal day-to-day business as you frenetically do sales calls hoping to build up a pipeline overnight. Just focus on today's commitments. That will move you in the right direction.

I hope these tips prove useful to you. Over the years I've found that anxiety is as much a part of our lives as any other powerful emotion. The trick is to embrace it, own it, and guide it gently to your intended direction in business and in life in general.