Stop underselling yourself to yourself!

"If you are afraid to fail, you will never do the things you are capable of doing." That’s a powerful quote from John Wooden and it’s had a positive impact on my life. Several years ago, I pondered just how many things hadn’t been achieved by the human race that should have been achieved, all because of the "fear of failure" genetics we develop over our lifetime.

Face it, failure can be crippling and can stop us cold in our tracks when we pursue success in life. And yet, if you study history, there are thousands of examples of people successfully managing their own personal fear of failure on their journey to achieving extraordinary success. What they all seem to have in common is a mindset that failure never occurs until someone gives up. What most of us see as failure, these people see as a lesson of a strategy that didn’t work and a belief that there’s a never-ending supply of different strategies. It’s time to get busy with the next strategy. It’s never the time to quit trying.

So, I’m worried about you. I’m worried due to all the people I see that are capable of achieving incredible things they may never achieve due to a fear of failing. It prevents them from even trying. Granted, fear of failure is developed early in life with great emphasis established in our educational system. It’s utilized by well-meaning adults in an attempt to get us to do our best at an impressionable age when we do things because we’re told to rather than attempt things we may fail at without fear. Why would anyone attempt to use fear of failure as a principle to prevent failure? Aren’t there any better ways to teach us humans how to conquer fear and eliminate failure?

Many things have worked for me in my life. The first sentence of this column's quote is a good one. Tony Robbins' phrase, “Faith is the antidote for fear” has worked well in overcoming every instance of fear attempting to enter my mind. (Antidote is the key word in that quote.) It’s an instant solution I can turn to. Another good quote is, “It’s never failure until someone gives up!” I love, love, love that when Joshua Chamberlain was asked what led him to utter two words that changed the outcome of the Civil War, he responded, “I had deep within me the inability to do nothing.” You wouldn’t be reading this right now had he not said two words and I urge you to Google his name and study how he changed the world. It will provide you a tool to conquer all fear preventing you from taking immediate action.

Another fear of failure conqueror was having parents that believed in me while they were alive. I have a wife and kids that believe in me. And extended family, friends, neighbors and community members who all believe in me. Not wanting to let them down has allowed me to achieve many things in life I didn’t know I could achieve. I wasn’t sure I was capable until I embraced their belief in me. I have thrived utilizing their encouragement as high-octane fuel to conquer fear of failure and I feel confident that I’m capable of so much more. It’s what keeps me juiced every day.

Funny, isn’t it? The only thing holding many of us back from the success we could be destined for is that we don’t have anyone encouraging us. Or, we don’t have anyone believing in us. We can do it, but only if someone is there holding our hand as a sign of security in case we fail. Which leads me to this week’s challenge to you. Rather than focusing only on your own personal fear of failure, pause and ask yourself who do you know who may be afraid of challenging themselves to do things they’re entirely capable of that they would pursue with some encouragement from you. Could it really be as simple as just telling someone you believe in them? Could encouraging and believing in others lead to a stronger belief in what you are capable of? If you encourage and believe in them, you’ll be amazed at the high percentage who are willing to encourage and believe in you. That makes for an enduring relationship.

Now look, if you’ve read all the way to here and you’re thinking that no one believes in you and no one will encourage you…you’re wrong. I wrote this article to be a tool of encouragement for all. I have witnessed thousands of people achieving things they never thought they were capable of. I believe that each of us are capable of great things that are unique to us based on the skills sets we already possess. Which means I believe in you, which means you can believe in yourself and what you’re capable of. So, please, get busy doing all you were meant to do…and please, GiddyUp!