What do you know that others think is untrue?
A few days ago I read a fascinating cover story in Fast Company magazine on Peter Thiel. Peter is a billionaire investor who co-founded PayPal, which was sold to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Since then he was one of the early investors in Facebook; he later invested in LinkedIn, Spotify, SpaceX and Airbnb. He obviously has a knack for determining what makes a successful company. So when I found out he had written a book, Zero to One, I ordered it immediately and read it in one day. I learned a lot about what it takes to grow [...]
Failure is not an option
In an attempt to reduce mistakes and failures and to increase the rate of success, people who manage or coach others often tell them: “You need to operate as if ‘Failure is not an option’.” By this they mean that you should have a mindset that has you do whatever it takes to insure success, that has you persist in the face of obstacles, that has you give it all you’ve got and then some. There’s nothing wrong with that type of mindset; it’s actually quite valuable. I spent years trying to acquire that mindset myself. At some point I [...]
What is the single biggest barrier to achieving your dreams?
If you really want to understand why you haven’t achieved what you want—why you haven’t been able to manifest your dreams—answer the following five questions. Are you usually afraid of starting something new? Do you have a lot of ideas but you never seem to put them into action? Do you procrastinate a lot? Do you tend to do things the same way all the time? Do you wonder why you aren’t more creative and innovative? If you answered, “yes,” to any of these questions you probably have a fear of failure. Let me explain why. Why would anyone be [...]
What's Really Behind The Fear Of Taking Action… And What You Can Do About It
“I’m not afraid of failing, why would you think that?” This is a common response when I suggest to people who are afraid of taking action that what is really stopping them is a fear of failure. They explain that they aren’t thinking about failure; they are only aware of a vague sense of fear just before they are about to take some action. Nonetheless, let me explain why a fear of taking action is always a fear of failure and what you can do about it. How I know fear of taking action is a fear of failure I’ve [...]
Things aren’t always what they seem
A little over three years ago we received a notice from our landlord (we had been renting a house ever since we arrived in California eight years earlier). He notified us that the house we were living in had gone into foreclosure and we were going to have to move in a couple of months. At the time it seemed as if nothing could have been more upsetting. We now had to find another house that met all our needs, spend weeks packing our household possessions, move our office (that was in our home), change all the utilities, unpack at [...]
Things aren’t always what they seem
A little over three years ago we received a notice from our landlord (we had been renting a house ever since we arrived in California eight years earlier). He notified us that the house we were living in had gone into foreclosure and we were going to have to move in a couple of months. At the time it seemed as if nothing could have been more upsetting. We now had to find another house that met all our needs, spend weeks packing our household possessions, move our office (that was in our home), change all the utilities, unpack [...]
Don’t Give Up. Ever. No Matter What.
How would you be living your life today if you hadn’t been able to speak until you were almost four years old and your teachers said you “would never amount to much”? … Please take a moment and answer this question right now. You will learn something very important. … It happened to Albert Einstein, who went on to become one of the most influential scientists of all time. How would you be living your life today if your life was totally about basketball and you had been cut from your high school basketball team? … Please take a moment [...]
You said that fear was your biggest problem
Whenever we do a survey of people on our mailing list, asking them to list the biggest problems they face, the most common answer is always a fear of failure. One common way that fear manifests is through procrastination, which is the third most common problem listed. In other words, people don’t take action because they are afraid to fail. But what’s wrong with failing? Why does it cause fear? And why would a fear of failing stop us from taking action? What is fear and what causes it? Fear is an emotion that results from a perceived threat to [...]
Do you have a hard time making decisions?
Do you have a hard time making decisions? One of the most common problems that clients complain about is their inability to make a decision. This isn’t the same as procrastinating, where you put off doing most things. I’m taking about needing to decide yes or no, or to choose between different alternatives, e.g., should I do this or that? And an awful lot of people just don’t want to choose. Why would so many people (including possibly you) put off making decisions when the failure to act often results in negative consequences in their lives? Should I ask [...]
