Brandon W. Jones

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to success in the business world is fear. Fear is the opposite of faith. Fear is difficult to overcome, and I think everyone faces a little fear all the time. What leads to success is how we deal with the fear that we face. Fear can be a strong positive motivator when it is used properly. I put together a list of three ways you can overcome fear. They are the following:
1. Know your self worth
2. Don’t be afraid to fail
3. Just ask

Know Your Self-Worth
When we can realize and understand our own self-worth, the sky is the limit. I really like the following quote by Marianne Williamson:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles,” 1992

As the quote points out, each individual has a great amount of self-worth. As we come to know and understand our own self-worth, we gain a greater amount of confidence. Many people will tell you that you can’t make a difference in the world, but that is not true. The most successful people in the world are single individuals that through hard work make a difference in their immediate world and then over time expand their sphere of influence so cover more and more people. Thus these individuals make a difference in the world. Realize that you can be great and then go forward and BE great.

Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
The fear of failure is a major stumbling block to success. To overcome the fear of failure, it is important to realize what failure is. Failure is the only way that people can learn to be successful. We learn from our own failures and from the failures of others. With each failure, we get a little closer to success. In many of my undertakings I like to take the shotgun approach. By that I mean that I throw myself out there as much as possible and fail many times with the knowledge that I will at some point in the future reach a success. All the failures are essential to reaching the successes. Don’t be afraid to fail because with each failure you are one step closer to success. By failing ourselves or seeing others fail, we gain powerful insights into what not to do, which leads to our success.

Just Ask
In the business world many times there is a fear that develops when we don’t know the answer. In every position there are specific core competencies that must be in place in order to get the job in the first place. Beyond the core competencies, don’t be afraid to just ask questions or even for help. If you have a question, do everything you can to find the answer on your own and then don’t be afraid to ask for help. Everyone in the business world has had help from someone else at some point in their career. They will understand and be willing to help, especially if they know that you have done all your homework and tried to find the answer on your own. When asking for help, be sure to choose your timing wisely. Don’t ask right when the person first gets in and don’t ask right when they are about to leave. At those times, they already have other things on their mind and are not in a position to take on a big question or project.

Although fear is very difficult to overcome, when it is directed in the right direction it can lead to a great amount of success. Fear can motivate us to do our very best and be the best we can be.