Fear can be crippling in any area of life, and it often has a negative impact on a person’s career. Colleen Oakley of LearnVest recently consulted with several successful entrepreneurs to compile a list of advice for the professionally timid:

• Let others challenge you. Marc Sampogna, CEO and Founder of Canopy Brand Group, explains: “You should surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. If you partner with those who can elicit a debate and shed new light on things that you may never have thought of, it will make your idea, product or service that much stronger.”
• Ask for help. “I really hate the ‘I did it all by myself’ style of business stories,” says Troy Hazard, author of Future-Proofing Your Business. “Everyone either needs help- or has had help at some stage from someone. Years ago, I used to think that I was the epicenter of my success. It wasn’t until my business almost wasn’t a success that I realized I needed assistance from others. That’s when I learned that there’s no such thing as self-made. Not only is it important to have your own vision, but it’s equally important to understand the vision of those around you.”
• Take risks. Ultimate Lifestyle Enterprises’ Stacia Pierce says: “It may sound counterintuitive, but you can spend years analyzing every detail of your business plan and never pull the trigger. When intuition tells you that you have a winning idea- even if you don’t know every single detail- just get going on implementing it! When my daughter, Ariana, and I launched Superstar Nail Lacquer, I had no idea how to manufacture and package the product. But I still started the business, figuring it out along the way- and it all came together quickly. In the past, I have missed out on some very big opportunities while waiting for the perfect conditions…  but not anymore.”

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has shared numerous tips throughout the two decades of his business. What originally began as an online bookstore has become an entrepreneurial empire thanks to hard work, creative ideas, and high standards.

John Greathouse, a contributor to Forbes Magazine, listed 5 success tips from Bezos:

• Establish a High Hiring Bar- You’re Creating an Enduring Culture

“I’d rather interview 50 people and not hire anyone than hire the wrong person.”

“Cultures aren’t so much planned as they evolve from that early set of people.”

• Combine stubbornness and flexibility

“We are stubborn on vision. We are flexible on details… We don’t give up on things easily. Our third-party seller business is an example of that. It took us three tries to get the third-party seller business to work. We didn’t give up.”

“If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible you’ll pound your head against the wall and won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”

• Focus on Customer Experiences (Not Colleagues’)

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

“There are multiple ways to be externally focused that are very successful. You can be customer-focused or competitor-focused. Some people are internally focused, and it they reach critical mass, they can tip the whole company.”

• Pitch the Organizational Chart

“The great thing about fact-based decisions is that they overrule the hierarchy. The most junior person in the company can win an argument with the most senior person with regard to a fact-based decision. For intuitive decisions, on the other hand, you have to rely on experienced executives who’ve honed their instincts.”

• (Know When To) Throw Away the Rule Book

“Every well-intentioned, high-judgment person we asked told us not to do it. We got some good advice, we ignored it, and it was a mistake. But that mistake turned out to be one of the best things that happened to the company.”