Fear of Failure
By Keith Cook
Are you afraid of failure? In sales, in sports, in modeling, in everything we do, the word “no” comes with the territory. But who wants to hear the word “no”? Most people don’t.
I recall as a loan officer, a particular situation in which I was on the phone with a client going over the numbers regarding refinancing her home. She was on the fence with her decision, and I decided to use the Ben Franklin close. I asked her to get a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side, I asked her to write “reasons I should” and on the other side, “reasons I should not.” We came up with 3 to 5 good reasons to do the refinance, and she wrote them down. I told her to come up with 3 to 5 reasons not to do the refinance, then I went silent. This is a sales tactic I learned from listening to Brian Tracy,. She didn’t come up with any reasons why she shouldn’t do the refinance; however, she still decided not to do it.
This was exciting for me although I didn’t get the sale. I’d been listening to sales tapes by Brian Tracy,and I felt confident. I was confident enough to apply what I had learned. She didn’t say “no” to me. She said “no” to my proposal. I chose not to look at being told “no” as a failure. I believe the experience of failure should be embraced like the experience of success. It’s apart of the process of becoming successful. Failures, like mistakes, are what I consider gateways to more knowledge. The first time you attempted to write your name, it probably needed some work.
Even though you may not do something correctly the first time, your attempt lends you more knowledge about whatever it is you want to accomplish. So in effect, you know more, and you have gained – not lost. So, in other words, you have not failed. You just need to make adjustments and keep moving forward. When I hear the word “no”, that’s telling me next. No means next. Numerous success stories mention the concept that successful people are extremely action oriented. They do more. Take Babe Ruth for instance. Babe has the record for the most homeruns in baseball history. However, he also has the most strikeouts in baseball history. But guess what, we don’t focus on his failures, we remember his successes.
In the article, “How To Overcome Fears,” it provides more detailed information on overcoming fears and improving your self-confidence.
30 Minute “Exploration” Session.
Self Worth Quote – 3 Keys to Increase Self Worth. So here are 3 keys to help you increase your self worth. 1. See yourself as worthy. This key goes hand in hand with the self worth quote previously mentioned. I know it’s not always easy to see yourself as worthy but the truth is that you are more worthy then you can possibly imagine. You were not born inferior to anyone. You were born to do great things in your life and have great success. 2. Work on one thing a month. This is a practical thing that will greatly increase your self worth. Pick twelve areas that you want to improve in your life. Once you have written down, start with the first one and improve yourself in that area by one percent. The next month, do the same for the second thing on the list. At the end of the year you will have improved yourself by one percent in twelve different areas. Overall you will have bettered yourself by twelve percent. That’s pretty good.3. Stop being your own worst enemy. It’s time to stop being your own worst enemy