Fear not success. Embrace it and have fun!
The toughest thing about success is that you’ve got to keep on
being a success. Talent is only a starting point in this business.
You’ve got to keep on working that talent. Someday I’ll reach
for it and it won’t be there.
—IRVING BERLIN, American composer
I doubt that you have ever heard someone say he or she doesn’t want to be successful, but we see people sabotaging their own success all the time.
Each of us has a unique picture of success. To some, success may mean having a certain position within an organization; to others, it may be measured by the amount of material possessions or money they’ve acquired. To the more enlightened, success may be having a loving family and friends.
Enter the Trickster. Fear can manipulate us to play it safe, resist taking risks, refuse to ask for what we want, be consistently late for appointments, insist on control, procrastinate, start projects but don’t complete them, or choose inappropriate friends. Or simply to believe success is impossible.
‘‘I will have too much responsibility.’’
‘‘I would have to maintain it once I achieve it.’’
‘‘People would expect too much of me.’’
‘‘I would have to give up too much.’’
‘‘My friends may no longer like me.’’
‘‘People would be jealous.’’
The subconscious reads these thoughts as reality, and believe it or not, failure often creates a secret sense of relief. Fear of success must be acknowledged before it can be transformed into personal power.
Choose to be successful.
You really can handle what life throws your way.
James Mapes is the founder of Quantum Leap Thinking™, creator of The Transformational Coach™, expert on the psychology of “applied imagination,” best-selling author, highly acclaimed business speaker, consultant, seminar leader and personal excellence coach.