Chapter 16

Fear Is the Great Indicator

Sooner or later, you will experience fear when you start taking new actions at new levels. In fact, if you aren't, then you're probably not doing enough of the right things. Fear isn't bad or something to avoid; conversely, it's something you want to seek and embrace. Fear is actually a sign that you are doing what's needed to move in the right direction.

An absence of concerns signals that you are only doing what's comfortable for you—and that will only get you more of what you have right now. As strange as it may sound, you want to be scared until you have to push yourself to new levels to experience fear again. In fact, the only thing that scares me is a complete lack of fear.

What is fear anyway? Does it exist? Is it real? I know it feels real when you are experiencing it, but admit it: Most of the time, what you fear doesn't even occur. It's been said that FEAR stands for False Events Appearing Real, which aptly implies that most of what you're afraid of doesn't ever come to pass. Fear, for the most part, is provoked by emotions, not rational thinking. And in my humble estimation, emotions are wildly overrated—and the scapegoat many people use for their failure to act. But regardless of whether you agree with my opinion on emotions, you must reframe your understanding of fear and use it as a reason to move forward rather than as an excuse to stop or retreat. Use this frequently avoided feeling as a green light to signal you to what you ...

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