There is nothing to fear but fear itself.
—FRANKLIN D.ROOSEVELT
THE FEAR OF failure is the greatest single obstacle to success in adult life. It is the fear of failure or the anticipation of failure that can paralyze your thoughts and your activities and hold you back from even trying to do the things that you need to do to be a big success.
A young journalist once asked Thomas J. Watson Sr., the founder of IBM, how he could be more successful faster. Watson replied with these wonderful words:
“If you want to be successful faster, you must double your rate of failure. Success lies on the far side of failure.”
In fact,your attitude toward risk taking is probably the most important indicator of your readiness to become wealthy.
Whenever you are faced with a risky situation, ask yourself this question, What is the worst possible thing that could
happen if I go ahead? Then, as J. Paul Getty, the self-made oil billionaire, said, you should make sure that, whatever it is, it doesn’t happen.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear. If you do the thing you fear, the death of fear is certain.”
Whenyou act boldly, unseen forces will come to your aid. And every act of courageincreases your courage and capacity for courage in the future. Whenever youtake action in a forward direction with no guarantees of success, your fearsdiminish and your courage and self-confidence increase. You eventually reachthe point where you are not afraid of anything.
“Failure is not anoption!” This is the attitude that, more than anything else, will guaranteeyour long-term success.
ACTION EXERCISE
Identify one major fear in your life—for example, failure,criticism, or disapproval—and resolve to act as if the fear did not exist.Imagine that you were guaranteed success if you would only take action in thedirection of your goals and dreams. Then, just do it!
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