How To Overcome The Fear Of Failure
By Sam Crowley
How many times have you wanted to try something new and different but you just couldn’t do it? You just couldn’t get past the fear of failure. Maybe it was a new business or a project at work. You really wanted to see what it felt like to step out in faith and be daring. Unfortunately the thought of failing kept you from moving forward.
Why?
Why would something that hasn’t even happened yet stop you from pursuing what your gut told you was the right thing to do? Your fear was so strong that it offset the awesome feeling you thought you would have if you were successful. The happiness that you imagined was cancelled out by an event that wasn’t real.
Let me tell you about what happened in my life after my biggest failure.
My Everyday Is Saturday vision came to me in September 2004. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I had just realized my third promotion in fours years and was in charge of our largest division within the company. That was when it hit me that I would have to sell my soul to keep up the pace. I would have to be like everyone before me who was traveling, spending time in bars and restaurants while their kids were growing up without them. Ironcially, some executives actually liked being away from their family. The peace and quiet of a lonely hotel room was more appelaing to them than fighting traffic and coming home to a noisy household.
Not me.
My dream day began and ended with my wife and kids. So I set out to buy my first business. I purchased a Quiznos Sub franchise that I thought would be my ticket out of the rat race. I did enough due diligence to know that Quiznos was the third fastest growing franchise in North America behind Subway and Curves. I also knew that 9 out of 10 franchises were successful, so the law of averages were with me. I kept the current staff in place and managed the business with a hands-off philosophy. I was able to keep my corporate job while the business ran itself, or should I say ran itslef into the ground.
Not long after I bought the business, the numbers were in the red and we were losing money left and right. My dream turned into a nightmare. When I quit my executive level job in May 2005, I took over the franchise myself and tried to save it, but to no avail. The business closed nine months after I bought it and away went all my money. Gone - see ya later. I lost everything. I mean EVERYTHING.
But I gained a new perspective that would change my life forever.
I had two choices: Crawl up in a ball on my living rom floor and feel sorry for myself (trust me that thought actually did cross my mind) or come back with a vegeance. I chose the latter. I went back to my former company to sell for them while I got my feet back underneath me. Going back to work for the company will be a whole other audio CD. Trust me when I tell you that you will pay twice the cost of the CD to learn what I learned from that experience. I’ll whet your appettie by telling you that within six months I was the #1 sales rep with zero relatonships with any clients. I basically started from scratch with every jealous rep gunning for me. I made twice as much money in half the time of a regular rep and ran my 43 apartments and two businesses at the same time. It was awesome.
While I was killing it in sales, I was starting EverydayIsSaturday.com. The website was being built, my first book was being co-authored and I was climbing back to my rightful position of Champion. That is why I can help millions of people worldwide. I have been down and out. I have had insecure bundles of fluff gunning for me in corporate America. But I always came out on top because nothing was stronger than my dream. My passion to be a father to my three girls and build the largest motivational website on the planet was ten times bigger than any silly corporate issue.
And it all started the day AFTER my biggest failure. You see, without a horrible decison and subsequent failure, there would be no Everyday Is Saturday, it could not have existed. I could not coach people to overcome fear of failure had I not failed myself. I remember the long days of making subs asking “What the hell did I get myself into?” But that was test. Did I have what it took to hang on and then pull myself back up.
It turns out I did have it, and so do you. You just don’t know it because you’re too afraid of failing. Trust me, the sun will still come up, you won’t die. The best thing is you will know exactly what not to do if you fail, which often times more valuable than knowing what to do.
Don’t let fear of failure paralyze you from moving forward.
Sam
