Getting After It

084: Courage Over Comfort—Breaking Through Fear (Book Review)

• Brett Rossell • Season 4 • Episode 84

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Have you ever let fear of failure or rejection hold you back?

 It’s the one thing we all face, no matter how strong we think we are. And it’s sneaky—it shows up when we’re standing on the edge of something important. 

Fear. It keeps us stuck, small, and safe. But safe doesn’t change the world. Safe doesn’t get you where you want to go.

I remember the first time I asked my wife out. I was terrified, not of her, but of rejection.

We all have our battles. Maybe it’s stepping up in your career. Maybe it’s starting that business you’ve been dreaming about. Maybe it’s standing your ground when everyone around you disagrees. 

The point is, fear is relative. It feels big because we let it. But the life you want? It’s on the other side of that fear. Every dream, every goal, closer than you think—if you’re willing to push through the barrier.

Look at the greats. 

Michael Jordan didn’t stay down when Detroit’s bad boys knocked him to the ground. Post Malone switched genres—leaving behind a comfortable, successful career because he followed what he loved. Florence Nightingale didn’t care what society thought; she answered her own call, and it changed everything. These are examples of what happens when we stop letting fear decide.

You want greatness? You’ll have to wrestle with fear. Every time. So how do you do it? How do you face it when your heart’s pounding, when your mind tells you to run?

Simple. You answer the call.

Pat Tillman did it when he left behind an NFL career for something bigger than himself. Florence Nightingale did it every day she showed up to care for the wounded. They weren’t fearless. But they acted in spite of it. And that’s the difference. Your call will look different from theirs, but the courage it takes? That’s universal.

It’s the same story we see in every hero’s journey. Hercules at the crossroads, choosing the hard path because it’s the right one. Courage calls. Do you answer?

Fear is a signal that you’re pushing boundaries, stepping into the unknown. And yeah, sometimes it feels overwhelming. But as Seneca said, “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” We blow things up in our heads, play out the worst-case scenarios, but the reality? It’s usually never that bad.

So, next time fear shows up, break it down. Look at it from every angle. See what’s really standing in your way. Fear is the enemy of progress. Don’t let it be the thing that stops you from achieving what you’re capable of.

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Speaker 1:

What's going on, everyone? Welcome to another episode of the podcast. Today we're going to be going over a book by Ryan Holiday called Courage is Calling. We're going to be talking about the first segment of the book, which is all about fear, understanding it and how we overcome it. So I appreciate you tuning into this Halloween episode. This is the week of Halloween. Let me know if you learn anything from this. Tag me in your post, do whatever you need to do, but I hope you enjoy Happy Halloween, everyone.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to a special Halloween episode of Getting After it, where today we're not going to be running from monsters, we're not going to be scared of zombies, there's not ghosts in our house but today we're talking about our own fears and we're going to face them head on. So I wanted to speak about this because overcoming fear is something that I've realized in myself and in others that tends to hold people back. Whether it's the fear of failure, from rejection or stepping even out of your comfort zone, it doesn't necessarily matter, and all those are very valid fears. The point is is like never let them, to never let them hold you back, never let them determine who you are, and to kind of open this off. I wrote about fear. Like I said, I love to journal and journaling helps me think. It helps me put my thoughts down exactly how I try to get them across, because I'm not the best with words sometimes and so I'm going to kick it off with this, and then we are going to jump into a book by Ryan Holiday actually, it's called Courageous Calling and it's one that one of his four virtues and it's from the Stoic Virtue series that he's made but lots of principles about ways that being courageous and betting on yourself actually benefits you in the long run. So we'll read this and then we'll jump to the book.

Speaker 1:

But fear is something that holds us all back, no matter how strong or capable we might be. It's that invisible force that we face at different points in our lives. But here's the thing we don't have to give in to its power. We don't need to falter just because we're uncomfortable or shaken of what's ahead. I'm not saying we need to tackle the fears that others impose on us. No, this is about confronting the fears that we hold deep inside. As with all things, let's start small and build from there. Maybe it's as simple as stepping out of your comfort zone to ask that girl on a date. Maybe it's applying for a job that feels a little out of reach, one that you're not fully qualified for but that you know you want. Maybe it's starting a business, a podcast or a blog, where you face the possibility of public failure or falling flat in front of an audience. Or maybe it's staying true to your values and morals when the world around you, your peers, your friends, might be pulling you in different directions. These are all acts of courage, all moments where we choose to overcome the fear that holds us back.

Speaker 1:

Fear is relative. It affects each of us in different ways, and what might paralyze one person could seem like no big deal to another. But that doesn't make your fears, or theirs, any less valid. Fear is personal and it's real. But here's the point the life we want to live, the one we dream of, is on the other side of fear. Our dreams aren't as far away as they might seem. If we can push past the barrier of fear, we turn those dreams into reality. It's just about taking that first step, and then the next and the next, until fear is no longer a wall, but it's a stepping stone.

Speaker 1:

So I did. Um, it took me a little bit to get my thoughts down on fear like that, but I've been the victim of fear many times. I mean all those examples I talked about with um asking the girl on the date. I had to do that with my my now wife Allie. I was terrified. We went to high school together and I had to make a choice to potentially ruin a relationship by asking her on a date. But it didn't and now we're married. So it worked out. Same with the job.

Speaker 1:

I now work at a company called Pattern, which I'm very blessed to. I never really did sales outside of selling my services at an agency or some of the other things I used to do with sales like frozen cups. I sold custom cups for a long time when I was a student in college, but all these things. I wasn't really the one that probably should have been first choice, but I still applied for it. I still tried to put myself out there and really not let that hold me back. And same thing with this podcast. Every single episode I upload comes with a little bit of fear alongside of it. It's gotten a lot better nowadays and I will say it used to be almost paralyzing. I've told the story before, where, when I recorded my first episode, I sat there for maybe 15 minutes with the button just hovering over the publish section and it was hard for me to do, but I eventually got through it and now it's something I really enjoy to do.

Speaker 1:

But yes, there is that fear of the public eye getting other people pissed off, but we'll talk about how. That's not an issue. If you're going to piss people off, then you're doing courageous things and it's not a bad thing. But I want to define what fear is. Fear is universal, but it manifests itself different for everyone, and so you could have a fear of public speaking. You could have that fear of failure If you were going to start your own business. The fear of social rejection is a big one right now. Like, think about if you were to have opposing political views than someone. Would you be scared to tell people how you actually feel? I think a lot of us would answer yes, because we don't want that. We don't want to butt heads with other people. We don't want to. We don't want to have them tell us that we're wrong. Right, like. These are all fears that I think normal people have and it's okay. I think it's actually probably a better thing that we try and be a little bit hesitant not hesitant, but we think before we speak. And, um, sometimes you just need to speak up, that's. We'll talk about a lot of examples in this. But, um, that move to Utah was a big push for me to overcome a lot of fears in my life Up to that point. You know, after college I moved back in with my parents. I had a pretty cushiony life and I just decided I needed to change. But that change required a lot of commitment and it was scary.

Speaker 1:

But there's this quote from Winston Churchill, so we're already jumping in this book. But again, this book is called Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday. But here's this quote from Winston, so we'll jump into the book right now. It says what these situations call for is courage In real terms right now. Will we have it? Will we answer the phone that's ringing? Now? Here's the quote from Winston Churchill. Pay attention to this.

Speaker 1:

To each, there comes in a lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour. And I want to pause for a second before we continue in the book. What is he saying there? What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour. So let's take the example of me moving to Utah.

Speaker 1:

What if I didn't answer that call? What if I didn't decide? You know what? Yeah, I need to change. This is what I'm going to do to make it happen. My life would look very different than it does today, and I'm not sure in a good way. I can't tell you if I would have found Allie again, or what my personal life would look like. Would I be running ultra marathons? I don't know, but all these things are super important to me, and it's only because I decided to take a chance on myself, and that's what I want you to think about too. How can you take a chance on yourself? What can you be doing to break down your fears and make them manageable to face, not be scared of them. Don't let it hold you back, because that means fear wins, and it is the enemy that we will talk about in this. So another example is Rosa Parks.

Speaker 1:

So, going back to the book, he says in the lives of all the greats we find the same themes. There was a pivotal moment of courage and, continuing on the book, people who conquered their fears, who acted with courage and, in some cases, briefly achieved that higher plane of existence. They entered the hall of heroes as peers and equals. Courage calls us, each differently at different times, in different forms, but in every case it is, as they say, coming from the inside of the house. Think about that for just a second. Everyone has different talents, everyone has different experiences that make them good at certain things in life, and we all have to answer the call, whatever that might be, to take that step, to take a bet on ourselves.

Speaker 1:

This podcast is something that I'm very proud of, with the things that I talk about, um, the progress that it's made and the way that I've learned and become better through the principles that I talk about. And it's only because I decided to answer that call and finally push publish after that 15 paralyzing minutes, and just decide you know what, let's just make this happen, let's just do it. Um, but fear shouldn't be a sign of weakness. I just decided you know what, let's just make this happen, let's just do it. But fear shouldn't be a sign of weakness. Look at it instead as an opportunity to grow, because that's initially what it is. Like I said in the beginning, fear or the life that we want is on the other side of fear, and our dreams aren't as far away as they might seem. But keep pushing through that, lean into it and when those days are hard, when you are scared, when you don't know what is going to come from the situation that you're going through, just trust that it will all work out and push forward. Don't let it hold you back.

Speaker 1:

Going back to the book whatever call you're hearing right now, what matters is that you answer. What matters is that you go to it In an ugly world. Courage is beautiful. It allows beautiful things to exist. Who says it has to be so rare? You picked up this book because you know it doesn't, and I just love what that is.

Speaker 1:

But I want to continue on this idea of answering the call, because Ryan Holiday puts on some really good examples here. He says today each of us receives our own call to service to take a risk, to challenge the status quo, to run toward while others run away. To rise above our station to do what people say is impossible. There will be so many reasons why this will feel like the wrong thing to do. There will be incredible pressure to put these thoughts, these dreams, this need out of our mind. Depending on where we are and what we seek to do, the resistance we face may be simple incentives or outright violence. Fear will make itself felt. It always does. Will we let it prevent us from answering the call? Will we leave the phone ringing or will we inch ourselves closer and closer, as Nightingale did, stealing ourselves, preparing ourselves until we're ready to do what we were put here to do? To do what we were put here to do?

Speaker 1:

If you want to talk about Winston Churchill for a second, think about Winston Churchill for a second. What would have happened if he didn't answer the call to stand up to the Nazis, to put himself out there on the political line? Really, he had very opposing views to what people in the United Kingdom believed, but he also would fight like hell. And he had to face Hitler. Think about that, this dude who is a psycho. He's on speed. That's actually true. Hitler was on speed. So you can fact check me if you want, but it is the truth. And no matter what, he knew what he was getting into. But that didn't stop him. It didn't let he didn't let the fear stop him because he knew what the alternative was. If there wasn't a way to progress, then the world would look very different and in a sense, it would be probably a lot worse than it is today. And so he took the stand. He he also has this quote that I really love. He says courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. And so be courageous in all things. Don't let fear hold you back. Um, because if you do like I said, then you win.

Speaker 1:

And shifting from examples like Winston Churchill, who a lot of us probably can't relate to, and this next person we probably can't relate to either, very well, but I like talking about these guys. Michael Jordan, when he was up against the Detroit Bad Boys and he literally knew that the coach was telling them in the locker room that they had to do all it takes to get Michael Jordan to the ground, not to let him get back up and to pretty much beat the crap out of him. They were not going to let him go because they knew if Michael Jordan was hot they were going to lose. And Michael Jordan had to overcome the fear of facing those tough opponents the literal Detroit bad boys and he made himself rise to the occasion. Every time he was knocked down he got right back up pretty much telling them hey, do what you must, but I'm not going to let you knock me down. He's like you might be beating me up, but you're not scary. Like, have fun with it a little bit. Be like, really You're scared of me that much that you're gonna do this to me. I don't know if he was thinking that, but I think it's kind of interesting to to try and put yourself in those kind of situations. Like how would you respond? What would you do?

Speaker 1:

Another example I was thinking about was post malone recently went straight country. He pivoted from hip-hop country and I don't know, you probably don't see Waka Flocka Flame doing that anytime soon or Lil Wayne what if Drake went country? I don't think that's him, but Post Malone was like hey, I like this stuff, I like country music. It's a big, you know, the big thing that I used to listen to when I was in Texas. And so if Post Malone can switch from hip hop to country, you can probably handle applying for that dream job or asking the girl on the date, whatever it is, but don't let it stall you, don't let it hold you down, because so many greats have overcome small things that have led to bigger things. And that's why I said in the very beginning let's start small and then break it down from there, because it's with everything in life that I talk about.

Speaker 1:

The more consistent you can be with putting yourself out on the line, trying to do the difficult thing, whatever that looks like to you, the more that you do it, the better and refined you become. And when those situations arise in the future, you're prone to handle them much better than you did before. It's because you're constantly working on yourself. You're constantly trying to put yourself out there, you're putting yourself on the line, you're working hard, and when I was studying for this podcast, I learned about Florence Nightingale, who I didn't necessarily know anything about, to be honest.

Speaker 1:

But Florence Nightingale, she was a pretty affluent. I don't know what they called her, but she was very affluent. She lived in a wealthy family, she had a luscious life and she lived at a time when more men would die in hospitals when they were sick or injured than if they were treated at home, and that's because, like the hygiene, the environment was just terrible, and so disease would spread rapidly through hospitals and pretty much the doctors would get sick. Everyone's health was on the line. It was a really bad place. To that point she was like something is wrong where we have a war and we're losing more casualties to injuries and wounds than we are actually on the field. Uh, I think her thought process was probably a little bit nicer and said but, um, she decided to leave her affluent life and go and be a nurse, which at the time, like being a nurse then, was not looked as it was now, like it was almost a profession that was avoided, and it's because of that reason people would die all the time. But Florence Nightingale had this thought in her mind for eight years, that she wanted to be a nurse, that she wanted to make a difference in people's lives, with um treating their health and and being there for them when they're sick. And so she decided to pursue her call and answer it to really be the one that tries to make a change in that industry. And I thought this was cool.

Speaker 1:

We're going to go back to the book, but there's a poem that someone wrote about Florence Nightingale, and uh, I'll give this preface first. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow would capture her heroic imagery perfectly in one of his poems, contrasting the dreary, cheerless corridors of the hospital with the image of Florence Nightingale going from room to room carrying a lamp in her good cheer. Here's the poem On England's annals. Through the long hereafter of her speech and song, that light, its rays, shall cast from portals of the past. A lady with a lamp shall stand in the great history of the land. A noble type of good, heroic womanhood. And then Ryan Holiday goes on to say heroic period possible only because she was brave enough to overcome those pedestrian but powerful fears. Her work in crimea done under fire and at grave personal risk. Indeed, she picked up crimean fever which plagued her for the rest of her life.

Speaker 1:

What inspired inspire the founding of the Red Cross, her innovations, her pioneering work afterwards in systemizing the care of the sick and vulnerable continues to benefit anyone who has ever been to a hospital in the 180 years since she stepped off the path that so many others had tried to intimidate her into staying on. Without Florence Nightingale, there wouldn't be the Red Cross Without the Red Cross. Think about all the people who wouldn't get the help that they need, either if they're hungry, if they're sick. The Red Cross does some pretty amazing things, but without Florence Nightingale it would be nothing. It wouldn't be a real thing. So there's this other part that I really enjoyed reading about kind of along the same lines, but it's the idea that our minds really try to deny that call for us. Our minds automatically try and hang up the phone before it's even answered, and I love this part of the book, so we're going to go back to it for a second.

Speaker 1:

Nightingale was not the exception in this. In the 1840s or today. Indeed, in the so-called hero's journey, the call to adventure is followed in almost by all cases by what? The refusal of the call Because it's too hard, it's too scary, because they must obviously have picked the wrong person. That's the conversation Nightingale had with herself, not for a while, but for 16 years. Okay, I take it back. It wasn't eight years, it was 16.

Speaker 1:

Fear does this. It keeps us from our destiny, it holds us back, it freezes us, it gives us a million reasons why, or why not, how? Very little can be done under the spirit of fear. So don't let it stop you. Fear is a real thing. It plagued Florence Nightingale for 16 years.

Speaker 1:

I'm only 27. That's 11 years more than I've lived no, I've lived 11 years longer than that, but that's more than half my life that she was struggling with this feeling, and I think that's something all of us can relate to, like there has to be a time in your life where you felt something and didn't want to answer the call because you thought, just like Florence, that it was either too scary, it was too hard, or that you're the wrong person for the job. But ask yourself honestly are you, are you the wrong person? Because the answer is probably no. I doubt it, and we're all given a crossroads at time, and in each of these books the Stoic Virtues series by Ryan Holiday he starts them all the same. He starts by talking about the four virtues, but he says this he talks about the stories of, or the example of Hercules, when he was given, when he came to certain crossroads in Greece and here's where we're going to go into it At a quiet intersection in the hills of Greece, in the shade of knobby pine trees, the great hero of Greek myth first met his destiny, where exactly it was and when no one knows.

Speaker 1:

We hear of this moment in the stories of Socrates man. I'm so sorry Socrates, bill and Ted messed me up forever on that. Anyways, back to it. Where was he headed? Where was he trying to go? That's the point of the story alone.

Speaker 1:

Unknown, unsure hercules, like so many, did not know. Where the road diverged, lay a beautiful goddess who offered him every temptation he could imagine. Adorned in finery, she promised him a life of ease, she swore. He never taste want or unhappiness, or pain or fear. Follow her, she said, and his every desire would be fulfilled. On the other path stood a sterner goddess in a pure white robe. She made a quieter call. She promised no reward except those that came as a result of hard work. It would be a long journey, she said. There would be sacrifice, there would be scary moments, but it was a journey fit for God. It would make him the person his ancestors meant him to be. Was this real? Did it really happen? If it's only legend, does it matter? Yes, because this is the story about us, and I think every single one of us is given a time where we have to answer that call single one of us has given is given a time where we have to answer that call, whatever it looks like for us. And ryan holiday.

Speaker 1:

Later in the books he says this um, because I think these are better real life examples of fear and overcoming them and being courageous. He says the receiver can't catch the football if they flinch in anticipation of the hit. The artist can't deliver the performance if they tremble at the ready pens of the critics. The politician will rarely make the right decision if they worry about the consequences at the polls. The family will never get started if all the couple can think about is how hard it's going to be. There is no room for fear, not with what we want to do anyway. This life we're living, the world we inhabit, is a scary place. If you peer over the side of a narrow bridge, you can lose the heart. To continue, you freeze up, you sit down, you don't make good decisions, you don't see or think clearly. The important thing is that we are not afraid.

Speaker 1:

And he makes a distinction between what it means to feel fear and to be afraid. And to feel fear is basically to feel scared. That feeling will pass at a certain time, but being afraid means you're not taking action and you're not moving forward because it is paralyzing. And, yes, fear does that and it has the power to, if you let it. You have the power to choose. Everyone does, everyone has their own agency, and so does the fear of other people stop you from pursuing what you want? Because if it does, I think there's something you need to maybe talk to yourself about. Sit down with yourself and be honest.

Speaker 1:

And, um, I'm from Arizona and Pat Tillman is also from Arizona. He played for ASU as a football player I don't know what position and then he went to the NFL. So Pat Tillman was this pretty amazing athlete and eventually he decided to go and join the I think it was the army, but this is after 9-11 happened and he wasn't feeling too good about what happened. Right, like so many Americans were pissed off that this occurred like on American soil. And so Pat Tillman says this Somewhere inside. We hear a voice.

Speaker 1:

Pat Tillman would say as he considered leaving professional football to join the Army Rangers. So he was becoming an Army Ranger, which is unbelievably hard. That's almost the equivalent of Navy SEALs from the Army. Our voice leads us in the direction of the person we wish to become, but it is up to us whether or not to follow. More times than not, we are pointed in a predictable, straightforward and seemingly positive direction. However, occasionally we are directed down a different path entirely. So he left his nfl career. He could have had an amazing career, he was a good football player, but he decided to instead go fight for his country because he felt like that's actually what he was made for, that's what he was put on the earth for, and he answered the call and he went and he did it. Unfortunately, he passed away in his service, but at least he answered the call and he stood up for what he believed in and he he lived the life that his ancestors wanted him to right. Like, kind of like the example of hercules. Like I love this quote. There would be sacrifice, there would be scary moments, but it was a journey fit for a God. It would make him the person his ancestors meant him to be. That I freaking love that.

Speaker 1:

So think about that next time you're confronted with fear or feel like you need to do something, if you need to stand up for someone at school, if you need to say something at work that is in front of your boss, but you might be criticized from your comments. Step up, say what you need to say, because if you don't, then you're a coward and you let fear overcome your life. But I'm going to jump back into this book because there's a really good section that I love, um, about the Bible actually. So we're going to talk a little bit about this. This is easy to be scared, especially lately. Events can escalate at any moment. There is uncertainty. You could lose your job, then your house and your car. Something could even happen to your kids. Of course we're going to feel something when things are shaky like this. How could we not Even the ancient Stoics, supposedly the masters of all emotion, conceded that we'll have involuntary reactions to loud noises, to uncertainty, to being attacked?

Speaker 1:

They had a word for these immediate, pre-cognitive impressions of things fantasia, and they were not to be trusted. But you know what the most repeated phrase in the Bible is? It's be not afraid. Over and over, these words appear again and again, a warning from on high not to let the phantasia rule the day. Be strong and of good courage, we hear in the book of Joshua Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, in Deuteronomy in the book of Joshua, do not be afraid, nor be dismayed. In Deuteronomy, when thou goest out to battle against thine enemies and seeest horses and chariots and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them. In Proverbs, be not afraid of sudden death, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh. In Deuteronomy, again, echoing the book of Joshua, moses calls to Joshua and sends him to Israel. Be strong and courageous, he says to him, for you must go with the people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.

Speaker 1:

The Stoics, the Christians, they didn't fault anyone for having an emotional reaction. They only cared what you did. After the shine of that feeling wore off. Be scared, you can't help that. William Faulkner put it. But don't be afraid. It's an essential distinction. A scare is a temporary rush of feeling that can't be forgiven. Fear is a state of being, and to allow it to rule is a disgrace. One helps you, makes you alert, wakes you up, informs you of danger. The other drags you down, weakens you and even paralyzes you. In an uncertain world, in a time of vexing, complicated problems, fear is a liability. Fear holds you back. It's okay to be scared who wouldn't be? It's not okay to let it stop you. Scared who wouldn't be? It's not okay to let it stop you. Boom. I didn't know that be not afraid was the most repeated verse or repeated phrase in the bible and I thought that was kind of cool, um, but I agree with it. Like, how do we beat fear then?

Speaker 1:

Um, ryan holiday says that we should use logic to beat fear, and he talks about this story of Pericles who, back in the day, he was a statesman, an Athenian statesman, so he lived in Athens, and so he's telling a story where, like, pericles is out on the battlefield with all these men and there's a storm out in the distance and they're terrified, right, like, they're so scared of the storms. And he makes a good point. He was like, back then they had no idea what lightning or thunder was like. They were pretty scared of it and I like this cause. It's kind of funny. But Pericles could not fully explain the science of what ha, what was happening. But he could get close. Grabbing two large rocks, he assembled his men and began to smash the rocks together. Boom, boom, boom. What do you think thunder is, he said, but the clouds doing the same thing. So he literally just broke it down in the most logical sense. It was like guys, the clouds are just banging rocks together, chill out. And um.

Speaker 1:

He goes on to also say, like in sobriety circles they call fear false evidence appearing real, and it's kind of what we were talking about. Like the fear that holds you back is often your own thoughts. Um, it's like the quote from seneca that he says uh, I have it on here. We suffer more in our imagination than in reality and we often think our worst case scenarios as well at wild as being chased by a serial killer or something like that. Right, the worst case scenario is you're dead, like that's our biggest fear. But usually it's just a little bit of discomfort we have to get through.

Speaker 1:

And Ryan Holiday has this good part of the book where, if you are confronted with fears, think about this and try and break it down. This is not helpful, it's not giving you an accurate picture of the world, it's certainly not making you braver. Tell yourself it's just money, it's just a bad article, it's just a meeting with people yelling at one another. Is that something you need to be afraid of Break it down Really. Look at the facts and investigate. Only then can we see, not what your enemy sees in hopes that you will Marcus Aurelius wrote but what's really there. Breaking it down has to be one of the most effective ways to think through your own fears. It doesn't have to look like anything crazy, like do a pros and cons list If you're trying to start a business but you're scared to do it. Write down what your fears are and why you think that they are there, because if you can understand that it's not as scary as you might think it might be, you're not going to die, you're not going to get chased by a serial killer. You might just lose a little bit of money, and if you're willing to take that risk, then what's holding you back? Because you can't let fear rule.

Speaker 1:

There's never been a person that has done anything great without overcoming fear and without pissing people off. Like I mentioned, there has never been a change that was not met with certain doubts. That has done anything great without overcoming fear and without pissing people off. Like I mentioned, there has never been a change that was not met with certain doubts. There's never been a movement that wasn't mocked in the beginning. There's never some sort of groundbreaking business that was loudly predicted to fail. If you've read the story of Steve Jobs, or understand it to some degree, go and look at all the scrutiny that Steve Jobs got. They're like you're really starting this in your garage. Are you kidding me? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. And then people started investing in it, and those investors were getting crap and people would pull their money out of Apple all the time, and they continued. They pursued. Now it's one of the richest companies in the world I think it's the second behind NVIDIA but here's what you do when you need to break it down First, recognize the fear, recognize whatever it is, and then, two, break it down into small, manageable steps.

Speaker 1:

Three, you need to take action, even if it's a small step at first. What does that sound like, though? It's the same process as goals Recognize your goal, break it down into small, manageable steps and then take action, even if it's a small step at first. That same process that you do with goal setting can also be done to break down certain fears, and I think this is interesting. But Tim Ferriss? He's a podcaster and an author investor. He's a smart guy, but he doesn't actually goal set. He does something he calls fear setting, which is where he will write out his goals and then do the same thing with the worst case scenarios that he could write underneath each one, pretty much trying to say like, okay, if all goes to hell, this is the worst thing that could happen. Can I handle it? Yes, can I not? No, okay, but at least he's breaking it down to try and understand where his mind is taking him.

Speaker 1:

If you're afraid of starting the business, like I said, list out the worst case scenarios versus your realistic outcomes. Be honest with yourself, identify what you're really afraid of, ask yourself what's the worst that could happen and then step into it, lean into it. There's a quote out there that goes fear is a mile wide and it's an inch deep. So usually we think it's worse than we anticipate. But you step in the first time. You realize it's manageable and then you just keep pursuing. But take that first step. Don't let fear hold you back any longer. You're meant for greatness, you're meant for more, and the more that you let fear win your battles, then the less time you have to do the thing that you were meant to be on the surface to do, and this week I want you to take one fear that's been holding you back and face it head on Whether it's a tough conversation, whether it's a bold move in your career or it could just be stepping out of your comfort zone.

Speaker 1:

But share your story with someone. Talk to them about it, because oftentimes we all have very similar fears to one another, and the more that we're able to connect with people on that basis, the more we understand that, hey, we're all human and we're all here to help each other out. We all have the same emotions. Some feel like there, like much more different, but I can confidently say that we all feel, feel fear the same, and if you want to achieve levels of greatness in your life, you need to overcome that fear. So I appreciate everyone for listening to this Halloween episode of Getting After it. Just because we're talking about fear, I figured it's a little Halloween themed. So I appreciate everyone for listening. Tune in for Thursday's episode. I'm going to be talking about a historical figure, just a little sneak peek, and I appreciate it. Until that point, keep getting after it.