How To Use Fear To Break Your Barriers To Success
How much fear exists in the world right now? Do you ever wonder how much of it is actually warranted? How much of it is being stoked by the media?
What Is A Champion?
Recently on The Wednesday Word, I delivered the following quote:
Champions are people with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them. They are a bit unrealistic in how they see life, as they don’t reason with reality. They make the impossible happen and never considered it impossible.”
– Grant Cardone
The Value of Fear
How can you use fear and turn it into something of value? What are your fears about taking your business or life to the next level? Who are you afraid of reaching out to that could literally propel your career or situation into the stratosphere?
And the big question: what can fear teach you?
That in and of itself is the first lesson. Fear is a very primitive emotion and sensation. It’s part of the fight or flight mechanism. It’s in your DNA.
Considering we don’t have to kill a wild boar to survive, what has become of fear in our society?
And considering that we’re human, that we don’t have to function strictly on instinct, can fear be a tool?
Let’s take a look at fear and discus how to use fear to launch yourself to another stage in the game of life!
First, let’s define it. According to Dictionary.com.
fear [feer]
noun
1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
Synonyms: foreboding, apprehension, consternation, dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, trepidation, qualm. Antonyms: courage, security, calm, intrepidity.
2. a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: an abnormal fear of heights.
Synonyms: phobia, aversion; bête noire, bogy, bogey, bugbear. Antonyms: liking, fondness, penchant, predilection.
3. concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone’s safety.
4. reverential awe, especially toward God: the fear of God. Synonyms: awe, respect, reverence, veneration.
5. something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of: Cancer is a common fear.
Now, while we’re at it, what does Psychology Today have for us on fear:
Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn’t feel it, we couldn’t protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But often we fear situations that are far from life-or-death, and thus hang back for no good reason. Traumas or bad experiences can trigger a fear response within us that is hard to quell. Yet exposing ourselves to our personal demons is the best way to move past them.”
What’s important here is that we acknowledge that we often fear situations and exchanges that are not life-or-death and we often “hang back” when in reality, charging ahead would actually have a tremendous benefit for us.
Fear In Business
In Grant Cardone’s book, The Closer’s Survival Guide, Grant talks about that experiencing fear could very well mean there’s something you don’t know.
When you don’t know what do do, how to do it and/or are not clear on how to respond when “x” happens, you become fearful.
Fearful of what?
- Have you ever been fearful of loss?
- What about fear of not gaining or getting?
- Do you get fearful of looking stupid?
- Are you afraid to admit there’s something you don’t know?
What would happen if you were able to use fear to propel you forward instead of allowing it to hold you back?
Did you notice the challenge you just received? If you accept the last statement as truth, then you have to accept responsibility for allowing fear to hold you back.
What about in selling? That’s the most critical part of business. If you’re not transacting, you’re dead.
So how do you sell?
POP QUIZ: Are you selling from confidence or selling from fear?
- Do you roll out the red carpet for all of your clients?
- Are you utterly unique in your marketplace?
- Are your processes tailored to meet the buyer needs or the company’s?
- Is your product or service significantly worth more than the price you are asking?
If you find that you are selling more from fear then confidence, than the next question/challenge is:
What specifically can you do immediately to make sure you are completely confident in not only your company and your product or service, but in your ability to deliver on the value that your company brings to the market?
Let’s look at a 5 things you can do today to bridge the gap between confidence and fear.
- Practice and train on your craft daily
- Study your product and industry daily.
- Treat every customer like your Aunt Rose.
- Know that you deliver far more value than the any price you’re asking.
- Make sure all processes make it easy for the customer to do business with you.
When you start here, you will soon find yourself selling from a place of confidence and anytime you lose security and slip back into fear, you simply need to come back here and review this checklist.
Fear in Life
Fear in life first of all is normal. We all experience it. The question is, are you going to allow it to stop you from your dreams and your goals?
Take a look at Felix Baumgartner. This guy did a supersonic skydive from 23 miles up. Was he scared? If he wasn’t “scared,” even a little bit, then let me be the first to name him a complete whack-job.
So while we will not be jumping from a balloon lofted space capsule sponsored by an energy drink, what real life Felix Baumgartner moments do you have? And also notice, that Felix really had only one way to get down.
Success lies just beyond you being willing to consistently do what you are afraid to do and also being willing to have only one way down.
In The 10X Rule, you’ll learn how to use fear as the signpost of the road of life to know whether or not you’re going in the right direction. Moving towards success in all areas of life.
How would you like to be able to use fear to your advantage instead of allowing fear to hold you back?
Success and abundance and in all areas of life is noble.
- Would Charlie Brown have been different had he actually talked to that little red haired girl?
- Despite the odds and everyone telling him no, Steve Jobs made the iPhone anyway
- The pilgrims the landed on Plymouth Rock went in spite of fear and because of fear but more importantly to live the life they knew to be right
- Did Bruce Lee leave a legacy beyond fear?
Fear will present itself no matter what happens.
The choice for you is decide if it’s going to stop you from creating the life you want and deserve or are you going to use fear to propel you into greatness.
Ultimately the choice belongs to you and so do the consequences of your decision.
