Many of us have been socialized to believe that “success” is doing well in school and getting a good job. These are definitely valuable goals to fulfill, but how do they connect to other dreams we may have? In fact, that programming is so strong that anything we contemplate that’s not connected to these goals could be threatening to others as well as to ourselves. Launching one's own business is a big step to undertake and often our life experiences do not prepare us properly. This could be why we become discouraged. Sometimes, friends and relatives who don’t share our values and fear that we are headed for failure do not support us. And what about our own insecurities – what if I can’t sell my product or my service, what if my business doesn’t bring in the necessary numbers, or I do something wrong and it costs me a lot of money, or I go into debt? How will I pay my expenses, meet my family’s needs? What will people think and say if I fail? What will I think of me as a person?
Actually, just overcoming these negative influences – both external and internal don’t necessarily mean you’ll be successful. In fact, it just might be the start.
Enter – the FEAR of SUCCESS!
People sometimes don’t know how to deal with success and when things are going well, actually do everything in their power to subconsciously sabotage these great results. They’ve dreamt about a level of success or what success will feel like once achieved but when this becomes a reality, it seems foreign to them. How many times do we read about celebrities who seem like they’ve “made it” and have become involved in drugs, excessive alcohol, gambling or fall under some other vice? The Betty Ford Clinic in Palm Springs has a colorful list of alumni who have gone there for detoxification and rehabilitation. Is it that our low self-esteem comes back for a repeat appearance when success has been attained? We can’t accept the newness of wealth, confidence and success to go back to the familiarity of poverty, low self-esteem and negativity. That’s what fear can do to us. The good news is that you can bring these fears to the surface, face them and overcome them allowing success to exist and sustain.
"Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous. That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor." – Paul Hawken