Failure Is Not an Option ... It Is Standard

You may believe that failure is a powerful motivator, but all-too-often it's not. Many, if not most of us, have become accustomed to failure -- learning to accept it from the time we began trying to accomplish things. When we learned to walk, we failed at first. As we tried to master our first words, we uttered gibberish. When we struck out at our first at bat, we were told, "That's okay; you'll get 'em next time." During these and many more failures, we were often rewarded -- sometimes with words, sometimes with more. Consequently, even though we say we are afraid of failing, I believe we are much more comfortable with it than we realize, often opting for it over the uncertainty of success.

How else can you explain the fact that so many small businesses fail? Lack of capital? Lack of knowledge? Lack of dedication? Certainly any and all of these could be the answer, but I believe that fear holds us back from finding the answers we need to overcome these and other obstacles. If fear of failure was indeed so motivating, we would surely learn how to go over or around anything that stands in our way. Unfortunately, this is too seldom the case.

As a marketing coach, I have seen a myriad of businesspeople who haven't reached their goals. It's not because their goals have been out of reach. It's not because they didn't have the resources to attain them. Rather it's been because they fear what reaching their goals may entail. They have not achieved such success before, and the unknown is paralyzing.

Sooner or later, I discuss the fear of success with a significant percentage of my clients. It is after watching them sabotage their own efforts, procrastinate beyond reason, or simply not complete activities they have agreed to, that their fear becomes apparent. Until this fear is brought to light and confronted, it undermines anything we try to accomplish together.

Once my clients vanquish their aversion to success, they are stunned by how much they can accomplish and realize how much time, money, and effort they have wasted. If you fear success, find it within yourself to summon the courage to ask for help. You'll soon be on your way to achieving the goals you have thought to be forever out of reach.