Thursday, July 24, 2008

Are You Afraid of Failure? Or of Success?

When we think about what concerns us about making a major life shift (like starting a business, moving into a new career, having children, getting married (or unmarried), relocating across country, and the list goes on), one of the first things that will come up is fear.

Most of us think that the fear is grounded in the fear of failure...

What if this business doesn't make money?
What if I'm not happy?
What if I move here and I don't find a job?
What if I have children and I'm not able to give them everything I want to give them in life?

The questions could go on forever. But, what most of us don't realize, is that our fear is not grounded in failure...

You've gone to school. You've moved before. You've raised children (even somebody else's). You know that this business is your passion and your dream and nobody can do it better.

It's not the fear of failure that gets us most of the time. It's the fear of success.

If you now become as successful as you've always dreamed you could be, what's next? What is there left to conquer? What will the cost be for your success? Will you be able to handle it? How will friends and family react to your newfound success? What about your life will change? Will you be ready?

These are all fears of success. I love Susan Jeffers' book "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway." She says there's nothing wrong with fear. We all have it. It's not going anywhere. The greatest thing you can do is say, "Whatever comes, I can handle it" and feel the fear and do it anyway.

The real question to ask yourself is this:

When you feel fear, are you using it as an engine or a brake?

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