We Must Move Past Fear to Shine Brightly
I stumbled upon three snippets of information on the internet this weekend that struck a wonderful chord for me. They were all second or third order links from tweets on Twitter. (Note: This is why I love Twitter, http://www.fogomedia.com/blog/makeinfouseful/using-twitter-as-information-filter/)
- Fear is holding me back from what I what to achieve, and from being who I want to be (uh oh, not good)
- The same fears seem to come back and crush me when it matters most (fear of success, not failure)
- It is possible to overcome my Fear (whew, I needed some good news)
The synthesis of these three realizations is profound for me. I need to take action to face my fears before they stop me from making the positive impact on the world I know I can make. Poking around the internet some more informed me that I am not alone.
Here is what led me to my realization ...
(1) Fred Wilson's "Fear is a No-No": http://www.avc.com/a_vc/
I intend to lead a startup from nothing (where we are today) to success. Fear and anxiety are increasingly a problem for me. That has to stop.
As Fred says, "A person who is quietly confident makes the best leader."
That is what I need to be.
(2) Marianne Williamson's "Our Greatest Fear":http://explorersfoundation.org/glyphery/122.html
"it is our light not our darkness that most frightens us"
What a realization! I am fine with prospect of failure. I can handle uncertainty and complexity. However, I am afraid to be "the man." Who am I to be better than someone else? So I take myself down to ensure I don't shine brighter than others. This fear literally causes physical anxiety, and it seems to flare up when I am closest to achieving the most.
(3) A quote from Leo Babauta's Focus Manifesto (http://focusmanifesto.com/)
"When we shine a light on our fears, they lose power. When we test them to see their validity, they will usually fail, and we can overcome them."
Another quote from Fred Wilson: "So if you are starting a company or building one, face your fears and move past them. It's critically important to your company."
It is, and I will. Now that I understand the Fear of Success is behind some of my confidence issues, I feel like I can do something about it. Just writing this helps. I just need to keep reminding myself that it is OK to achieve something really big. It is OK to be a star.
As Marianne Williamson says, "playing small does not serve the world".
Credit: Thanks to @VenessaMiemis for links to #2 & #3
