I believe that our biggest fear is actually not failure, but success.
As an experienced failure myself, it's pretty easy for me to get out there, try something new, (embarrass myself a little) and get over it when things don't turn out the way I expected. That's just a fact of life. And then I can cross that off the list of things that I shouldn't do and continue to stay small.
This will then let me crawl back into my little shame bubble and tell myself that I wasn't really meant to be successful anyway. And I can keep diluting my potential time and time again.
But what changes this pattern is surrounding yourself around people that believe in you so strongly that they always put you in check.
One of the biggest differences with the way I do business today is that I hold myself accountable to my highest self by surrounding myself with the highest talent. What I believe to be the highest talent are the types of people that are the best fit for working with me on the project I have in mind. That means they believe in my vision, they enjoy my working style, they feel they are being compensated fairly, they feel valued, and ultimately they want to see us succeed.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. —Marianne Williamson
On a daily basis I face my small thinking.
Here's an example: as the faulty human leader I am, one day I suggested changing our target market to my team. Here was my reasoning: we could be a big fish in a small pond, risk less, and be fairly successful playing smart. Makes sense right? I even met some people from this neighbourhood and could get some introductions. It is a perfectly safe pivot!
A team mate bluntly reminded me that first off, this was not part of the plan, which alerted him because now that meant his job would change.
See what happened there?
He spoke up mainly for himself, but what he said was that yes, we could choose a different market, but why? We chose the first market because that is where our ideal customers are. And sure, it might be a big, intimidating and expensive city, but it is also the place where we will make the most success. Why move away from that?
As someone who always finds success,I have a tendency to find a million excuses to get out of it. But ultimately, what is meant for you will happen for you, so you might as well stop fighting and just let it be.
Easier said than done, obviously. Have you had these moments of small thinking yourself?
Let me know in the comments if this little story reminds you of how you might have tried to escape your own brilliant success.
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