Let’s begin this blog post with an awesome quote I love:
“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”
— George Addair
JP here flipping that Q over to you…
Is fear holding you back from getting what you want out of your biz and life? Are you letting fear bury your goals in an early graveyard?
Geek out with me for a sec… I looked up the definition of “fear” and here’s what it said:
“A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.”
So, fear is an emotion you feel that’s triggered by certain things whether they are real or imagined.
Hmmmm…
I find that super interesting!
How often would you say the things you fear actually happen?
If you’re like most people, what you fear actually happens about 1/1000th of the time…
Many people think fearful thoughts all day every day. Worrying themselves to death, literally in some cases.
Not all fear is a bad thing, though… it’s great when it protects you from danger and keeps you safe.
But c’mon, on a day-to-day basis, how often are your fearful thoughts protecting you from physical danger or evil?
Not often. (Unless you’re Crocodile Dundee! Outdated reference? I sure hope not.)
Most of the thoughts that cause you to feel scared are protecting you from emotional danger.
- Fear of rejection.
- Fear of what others may say.
- Fear of failure (the biggie!).
These fears keep you stuck in the same place… and force you to confront one of the biggest enemies of success. This enemy is very cunning, sly… and actually gives you positive thoughts and feelings in the short term. And unfortunately, it’s built right into human nature.
For instance, one of the first actions I took as a real estate investor was cold calling some FSBOs in the newspaper… to practice talking to sellers. But for months, I couldn’t bring myself to call. (Cringe. Shiver.)
Why?
I was scared pantsless to make calls to sellers because it was outside my comfort zone.
- What if they rejected me?
- What if I embarrassed myself?
- What if I didn’t know enough and came off as an idiot?
- What if, what if, what if…
And that, my friend, is one of your biggest enemies of success…
Your Comfort Zone
Fear does everything in its ability to keep you stuck there.
How do you escape the clutches of fear and break through your comfort zone? The exact same way you walk past a graveyard at midnight — you put one foot in front of another, then the next, then the next.
You take action, ready or not.
You do the best you can with what you’ve got, where you’re at. And do the thing you fear.
Scary Truths
Here are a few truths that have greatly helped me “do the thing” & conquer fears:
Truth #1: As long as you continue to grow into unfamiliar territory (which is a requirement for success in business and life), new fears will surface.
Truth #2: Making the decision to do the thing is less frightening than the helplessness that accompanies being stuck in fear.
Truth #3: The only way to get rid of fear is to do the thing you fear… repeatedly!
Follow our buddy Ralph Waldo Emerson’s advice: “Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain.”
Look, no matter how high you climb, no matter what you accomplish… you will always have to step into fear and outside your comfort zone to reach the next level.
Have you gotten that feeling lately? You know the anxious uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach… that immediately tells you not to do the thing you know you must?
If you haven’t gotten that feeling lately, that’s a problem. Because that means you’re stuck in your comfort zone and that’s not a good thing.
So here’s what I want you to do…
Do something frightening, something that scares the heck out of you this week… something that you know you should be doing to move your business forward.
Could be contacting a seller, setting up a private money appointment, making an offer, or confronting a person or situation.
And keep this in mind…
When you feel that “uncomfortable feeling,” your body is shouting at you, “Here’s an opportunity to learn, to grow, to move outside your comfort zone and towards your goals.”
… and that’s a good thing.
No, that’s a great thing!
Heck, find someone in your life to hold you accountable to do the thing holding you back from closing more deals and building the REI biz of your dreams…
I’m sure they’ll be glad to hold your feet to the fire.
You got this.