If I’m honest with myself, I can see that much of the fear that holds me back today is not my fear of failing at something, but what would happen if it was successful.
These are some of the voices currently in my head:
- I don’t want to create a formal program or offering because people might sign up for it and I’d be committed to running it.
- The more attention I bring to myself, the more people talk about me. They might say something critical of me.
- Right now I live a life of freedom and possibility, and if something I created turns into something, I’m now obligated to maintain it.
- If I take money from someone, I take that commitment very seriously. I’d rather not take money and be free of that commitment.
- My family has been taking a lot of time from me and I don’t want to risk that.
- I know the type of effort I’ve put into things in my past, and I don’t want to commit myself to that again.
If I look at the above list, I can see the thread through all of them is I do believe I could be successful at anything I do, and that is actually the fear holding me back today.
I have a strong desire to make an impact. Impact other people. Impact the world. Use my position of privilege and abundance to really make a difference. Be part of the solution, whatever that is.
I’ve been trying to accomplish that for a while from a very passive place. Writing my articles, creating books, investing money, donating to charities. All good and worthy, and very “safe”. I’ve written about goals of mine to create passive income, however, I’ve already achieved that. What I really want is to create from a far more active place.
Ironically, this fear of success is stopping me from having what I truly want.
For as much work as I’ve done on myself, and how far I’ve come, I can accept that I’m a human being, and that the work never ends. There is no such thing as perfection and it’s fine for me to say these things.
What’s the solution? In general, fear is a compass. The thing I fear is usually the exact thing I need to be doing. I’m going to take this moment to use the things I’m afraid of and literally take action on them.
To answer my list above, to fly in the face of my own fear, I will set an intention of:
- I’m going to create something people can sign up for.
- I will bring attention to myself. Have people talk about me.
- I will create something that I am obligated to maintain.
- I will take money from someone for a non-passive commitment (not selling a book, for example).
- Whatever I create will allow me to continue to support my family in the ways I wish.
- I will commit myself to doing something from this place of freedom and possibility I find myself in.
Basically, I took my first list of my fears, and literally came up with a second list to do those exact things.
Sharing this is scary for me, but I summoned up the courage to press “Send” because you’re reading it. I’m on the hook now.
What is your own fear of success holding you back from?
Fear of Success – true – how to scale? What if I’m successful at scaling? I have to hire a bunch of people. What if someone steals my idea or simply screws me by seeming to want to help me?
So many fears – mostly not of failing, but of succeeding – you are quite correct my friend.
Yet, you have been successful many times over – how do you fear success?
Anyway, thank you. You have been helpful. I will continue to move forward.