“I have personally seen very successful businesses destroyed by their owners making a
sequence of fear-driven decisions. I have seen none destroyed by courage.” -Dan Kennedy
Dan Kennedy is a brilliant and very successful direct marketer, famous in both the offline and online marketing worlds. I had the privilege of seeing him live back in 1997 and I still have the notes. I’m currently reading yet another one of his books.
I think his observation applies to more than just business.
It’s not that fear-driven decisions will necessarily destroy your life, as in kill you. But they may well suck the joy out of your life. And the adventure. And the whole point.
Most of my fear-based decisions have been decisions to stay where I am instead of going somewhere new, both literally and figuratively.
Fear of failure, fear of change, fear of ridicule, fear of schmoozing, fear of being the center of attention, fear of being invisible, fear of being misunderstood, fear of being judged, fear of missing out, fear of wasting time, fear of losing money, even fear of success have at various times kept me in the comfort zone.
But the comfort zone is not the growth zone. And it’s not the success zone.
In fact, I’ve found that the discomfort zone is where most of the things in life that matter happen.
I’ve learned that being in over my head where I know I can’t do it is the best place for me. Because it’s there that I know I need to draw on resources outside myself. I need to become someone I’m not in order to do something I haven’t yet done.
For me, whether it’s a mental or physical challenge, it’s also a deeply spiritual place. And I’ve never regretted going there.
P.S.: The most repeated command in the Bible is “Fear Not” and its variants.
Really.
