Overcoming the 5 Professional Fears
Over the past decade I have had the privilege of getting to know and working with some of the most interesting and successful people in the world.
You may be an entertainer taking home $35,000 per hour. You may be a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. You may be a Wall Street corporate merger guru. Still…
You and I have to understand, quickly recognize, and know how to defeat the top 5 professional fears. They are:
1. The fear of silence 2. The fear of sharing 3. The fear of selling 4. The twin fears of rejection and failure 5. The fear of success
Not surprisingly, most (not all) successful individuals initially assume they are the exception to the rule. “Fear? Who me? No way.”
“No fear” isn’t just a Millennial motto for the adventurous. It’s a way of life. I know all this, yet the other day I got hit with 1 of the 5 professional fears and responded 180 degrees opposite of what I know to do in such situations.
I still believe “No fear” is a way of life, but it’s an imperfect way. Every time we give into fear, we need to humbly acknowledge it, remind ourselves what to do next time, and then move toward that “next time” as quickly as possible.
So, let’s take a quick look at each of the 5 professional fears.
1. The fear of silence is seen in our obsession with all things digital. Ironically, without silence, we can’t truly know ourselves, let alone tap into our amazing gifts of intuition, deduction, creativity, and more.
The fastest test? Ask a room full of people to put away all things electronic and all reading materials, to stop all conversations and looking around, and simply remain silent for 5 minutes. Often, you will discover that you yourself can’t wait out those 5 minutes. Test yourself over and over until you can do it. Then move to 10 minutes. Then to 15 minutes.
If you master this in front of a room full of people, you’ll be well on your way to mastering it when you’re alone. In time, your natural gifts of intuition, deduction, and creativity will begin to take flight. Enjoy!
2. The fear of sharing walks us all the way back to grade school. In kindergarten, we freely and sometimes enthusiastically shared our artwork with the teacher, our classmates, and our family. By third or fourth grade, however, we lock in on the fact that our sharing isn’t always received the way we expected. That’s okay when you’re a kid. Now, blink twice. You’re back in the real world. Don’t give into irrational fears (“a friend may steal my idea if I told her,” “a colleague might think it’s stupid”). The biggest and best ideas thrive in an atmosphere of camaraderie.
3. The fear of selling is seen in our reluctance to invite others to teach us, mentor us, assist us, encourage us, strengthen us, and open doors for us. May I sell a wonderful new book to you? It’s titled “Leaders Open Doors” by Bill Treasurer. Without ever using the word “sell” or “selling” or “sales” or similar, Bill Treasurer takes his in-depth research, shows how it’s applied in his own life, and then invites you to do the same. Highly recommended!
4. The twin fears of rejection and failure are well-known and covered extensively in other great LinkedIn posts, so I’ll keep moving…
5. When I bring up the fear of success, people laugh almost every time. Yes, it sounds completely backward. Then again, that’s what fear does most of the time: It makes us flee, fight, or freeze up. So, tell the truth: Do we want to be successful? If so, great! If not, what are our other options? I’ll take success any day. I hope you will too!
Cut and paste the list of 5 professional fears. Review them often. Remember you’ll give into them from time to time. That’s okay. Just promise yourself that you’ll always get right back in the game.
David Sanford serves on the leadership team at Corban University, www.corban.edu. His writings have been published everywhere from Harper Collins (books) to Forbes (commentary).
