Will the Fear of Failure Prevent You From Reaching Your Goals?

I just got done filling my brain, as well as a notebook, with the fantastic information found in Mike Dillard and Mark Wieser's Black Belt Recruiting course.

Once again, Mike has risen the bar in network marketing and hits on every single aspect a person needs to properly speak to a prospect.

From the basic psychology of the interaction between you and your prospect to how to qualify each of your prospects, to how to cut loose an abrasive person to smoothly overcoming some of the most frequently-heard objections in this industry, Black Belt Recruiting takes you right into the trenches with Mike and Mark and shows you everything you need to master prospecting.

But you can read more about Black Belt Here ...

The purpose of this particular post is not to promote Black Belt Recruiting. It is to share a very important lesson I took away from this powerful course.

One of the points Mike and Mark delve into is a person's fear of failure and how it hinders their success in this industry.

In relation, they talk about a person's fear of SUCCEEDING and how that also hinders their success, but that's a story for a different day.

Human beings make decisions based on two instincts: Pleasure and Pain.

Every single one of us gravitates towards the things in life that give us pleasure. And for good reason.

But, the driving force behind a person's 'pain' is the simple fact that they may fail.

They also may succeed. But it's the fear of failure that overpowers their thought process and makes them avoid even trying.

As Mike and Mark discussed how a person's fear of failing prevents them from taking risks and going outside their comfort zone to get the pleasure they desire, I instantaneously related it to a portion of my life.

When I was in junior high and high school, several of my friends skiied. They tried to get me to come with them almost every time they went, and every time I said the same thing:

"Are you crazy? There's no way I can do that! I'll do nothing but fall and make an ass of myself! I might even break a leg."

My fear of failure kept me off the slopes for a good five years. It wasn't until the winter of my junior year of high school that I finally worked up enough courage to give it a shot.

And guess what? My first time out, I fell...a lot.

My second time out, I fell...but not as many times as the first.

By my third time, I started to get the hang of things. I still fell, but I continued to improve each attempt I made.

And throughout the entire learning process...I had a blast!

As time has passed, I've gotten to be pretty good at the sport. Certainly I'm no professional downhill racer, but I do pretty well, and greatly enjoy it.

But my fear of failure kept me off skis for a five-year period that I could've been using to reach outside my comfort zone and try something I knew was fun.

You need to approach your goals in life the same way. If you hate your job, despise your commute, or can't stand being away from your family while you trade your time for wages, and you decide that it's time to make a change...

THEN DO IT!

Don't let the fear of "what ifs" and potential failures cloud your judgment.

If you're in a position where you've found a business opportunity you like and could set you up for years of financial freedom if you apply the proper dedication, don't let the idea of potentially NOT succeeding stop you from taking the chance.

Because if you do, you might find yourself looking back, five years down the road, while you're still stuck in the same situation of no time and no freedom in a dead-end job that makes you miserable...

...and wished you had "strapped on those skis" and taken a risk.