Act As If It Were Impossible to Fail
Courage is resistance to fear,
mastery of fear—not absence of fear.
— MARK TWAIN
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt are, and always have been, the greatest enemies of success and happiness. For this reason, top salespeople work continually to confront the fears that hold most salespeople back. The two major fears that stand as the greatest obstacles on your road to success are the fear of failure, or loss, and the fear of criticism,or rejection. These are the major enemies to be overcome.
As it happens, it is not the actual failure or rejection that hurts you or holds you back. It is the fear of failure or rejection that stops you from acting. It is the anticipation or expectation of failure or rejection that paralyzes you and blocks you from doing what you need to do to achieve your goals.
The truth is that everyone is afraid of something, and often, many things. Everyone you meet is afraid of failure and rejection in some way. The difference between a hero and a coward is that the hero is brave just a couple of minutes longer. The average person moves away from and avoids the fear-causing situation. A brave person forces himself or herself to confront the fear and do what is feared anyway.
Glenn Ford, the actor, once said, “If you do not do the thing you fear, then the fear controls your life.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson said his entire life was changed when he read the words “If you would be a great success, make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear.”
The fear of failure, the major obstacle that holds you back, is felt in the solar plexus and experienced as the feeling of “I can’t!”
You can neutralize this feeling by repeating the opposite phrase, “I can! I can!” over and over. Even more effective for neutralizing the fear of failure is to say to yourself “I can do it! I can do it!” over and over, until you actually believe it.
Whenever you repeat the words “I can do it!” your fears go down and your self-confidence goes up. When you repeat to yourself the words “I like myself! I’m the best! I can do it!” you boost your self-esteem and self-image to the point where eventually you feel unstoppable. You create within yourself the mind-set of a high performance salesperson.
Then, as Emerson said, “Do the thing and you will have the power.”
Here is a key point about fear of any kind. Instead of waiting until you feel courageous enough, do the thing you fear, and the courage will come afterward. As Aristotle said, “Act as if you already had the quality you desire, and you shall have it.”
ACTION EXERCISES
Identify the one great fear that holds you back from throwing your whole heart into becoming a big success in your field. There is always at least one fear lurking in the back of your mind.
Now imagine that you do not have this fear at all. Imagine that you are totally unafraid in every part of your sales work. Imagine that you are guaranteed complete success in everything you do. How would you act or behave if you had no fears at all?
Whatever your answer, from now on act as it if were impossible to fail, and it shall be! Fake it until you make it.
