The One Fear That's Holding Your Business Back

A particular quote has been on my mind a lot recently.

Marianne Williamson said: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

This IS reality.

We are actually—not in theory—actually powerful beyond measure. Human beings are capable of incredible things, every single one of us.

But embracing and using that power is hard. It takes effort. And if you truly believe you're powerful beyond measure, you know you're wasting your power if you don't put in that effort.

It's much easier not to believe. It's easier to compare yourself to others and conclude that you don't have it in you—to tell yourself, "I'm not good enough to be extraordinary."

But the truth is, that power is already there, whether you believe it or not.

It’s not something we have to gain, achieve, or develop. It’s our true essence. It’s the way we’re born.

However, our fear blinds us from experiencing that. We go through life waiting for the next shoe to drop. No matter how much good comes into our lives, we quickly go right back to worrying about the bad that might happen.

This is survival programming. We feel and remember the negative stuff twice as much as the positive stuff because that's what kept us alive in the wilderness.

Unfortunately, it also keeps us from thriving in the modern world. It holds us back, like driving around with the emergency brake on. Of course the car can't perform its best that way…and if you do it for long enough, the car will give out entirely.

And that doesn't serve anyone—not you, not your clients, not anyone.

That's why your most important work is letting go of your fear.

THIS is what will change your life—not putting your picture on a postcard or posting on social media. Not closing more deals or making more money. (Believe me, accomplishing more will not eliminate the fear in any way.)

You let go of the fear not by pushing it away but by embracing it. By examining it up close and understanding what it really is.
Whenever you feel fear bubble up, remember these three things:

1) Fear is a story you tell yourself.

You believe there is danger ahead, based on past experience or hearsay or conjecture. But you don't know. It hasn't happened yet. The fear is entirely constructed within your mind.

2) Whatever you fear, it's unlikely to actually happen.

The vast majority of the time, it doesn't. We waste an incredible amount of emotional energy worrying about things that never come to pass.

3) If it does happen, it's probably not going to play out quite the way you think.

It's probably not going to be as bad as you expected. And if it is, that just goes to show that anticipating the negative outcome was a waste of energy—it didn't prevent the bad thing from happening.

In fact, fear often leads you to do exactly the wrong thing.

I visited my Mom last week—she's 88 and was an active tennis player until her early 80s. In her mind, she still thinks she’s going to play tennis again. She says that what motivates her every day is trying to get better.

She's afraid that if she isn't constantly striving, something bad will happen. (Sound familiar?)

Well guess what? Last week she hurt herself exercising too much, and now she has to use a cane. All her striving led to the exact opposite outcome she wanted.

Real estate agents do this all the time.

You're afraid that if you're not constantly chasing deals, your business will fall apart. But the more you chase, the further it takes you from building a sustainable business.

What if you let go of the fear?

What if you let go of the idea that you need another deal?

What if you just show up and give your best to what's happening?

You’ll have a much better experience, and so will everyone around you.

That's the power of this practice of letting go of fear: every situation feels better, regardless of the outcome. And because you feel better, you can perform better.

When you release the emergency brake on yourself, you'll be amazed at what you can do.