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Chapter 3:"Dare to Go Forward"
From Just Shut Up and Do It!
by Brian Tracy
"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance." –Bruce Barton
One of the most important requirements for success is action-orientation. This is the internal motivation to get going immediately on a goal or project. Action orientation is expressed in a sense of urgency and an impatience to get the job done quickly. It is one of the most important qualities of the most successful people in any field.
The biggest obstacle to taking action immediately is fear–fear of failure, loss, embarrassment, criticism, or ridicule. To achieve all that is possible for you, you must consciously and deliberately take control of the fears that hold you back.
SELF-CONFIDENCE CANCELS FEAR
The antidote to fear is self-confidence. Self-confidence gives you the energy, enthusiasm, and drive to overcome any obstacle, internal or external, in the pursuit of your goal.
Self–confidence is based on a foundation of courage, and courage is the key quality that leads to success.
As Winston Churchill said, "Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend."
Margaret Thatcher said it this way, "Everything comes down to courage at the sticking point."
Everyone Is Afraid
As it happens, everyone is afraid of some things, and often, many things. The only difference is how you deal with the normal and natural fears that you experience each day.
Ralph Waldo Emerson gave us the solution: "Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain."
The way you overcome your fears and develop unshakeable levels of courage and self-confidence is to deliberately do the very thing that you fear, over and over, until the fear is gone.
One of the greatest fears that holds us back is the fear of rejection. This usually comes from destructive criticism in early childhood. As adults we still may be hypersensitive to the opinions, real or imagined, of others. This concern over what other people may think about us often holds us back from trying in the first place.
A VALUABLE SUCCESS PRINCIPLE
Never do or don't do anything because you are afraid of what people may think about you. Because the fact is, no one is thinking about you at all. IT is amazing how many people stay in a bad job, unhappy relationship, bad marriage, or a difficult situation of any kind because they are so concerned that people will be critical of them if they decide to get out of the situation and walk away. When they finally do muster up the courage to walk away, they are often surprised that no one really cares. Nobody was thinking about them at all.
FACE THE FEAR
In Hamlet, Shakespeare says, "...take arms against a sea of troubles, and, by opposing, end them." The interesting discovery is that as you move toward the person or situation that you fear and take action in spite of your fear, your fear goes away and is replaced by courage.
However, if you back away from the fear-inducing person or situation the fear continues to grow, and soon consumes your thoughts and feelings, distracting you during the day and keeping you awake at night.
A young journalist, Arthur Gordon, was interview Thomas J. Watson Sr., the founder of IBM, and asked him, "Mr. Watson, how can I be more successful faster?"
Watson replied with these classic words, "If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate... That's where you'll find success–on the far side of failure."
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