4 Ways to Conquer ‘Fear of Failure’ & Finally Fulfill Your Greatness

January 14, 2021

You come to me for raw advice you can use, right?

So today I’m hoping you’ll give me the latitude to get real with you…

That’s what a coach does. Sometimes I have to confront people on the stories they’re telling themselves.

And when somebody tells me what’s holding them back is fear of failure, or in other cases, fear of success… it’s time to address the four real issues I typically see preventing them from greatness.

Let’s talk about it…

Do You Lack Clear, Meaningful Goals?

If you’ve ever told yourself you have a fear of failure or fear of success, the first question I would ask you is simple…

What are your goals?

And then from there, I’d want to make sure those goals were both clear and meaningful.

Because here’s the thing… when your ambitions are big enough and clear enough, it’s very easy to get into action. You’ll practically be compelled to do it. You’ll wake up every day excited to tackle the day and move yourself closer to the accomplishment of your goal.

Clear, meaningful goals will conquer that supposed “fear” of failure.

So my first suggestion for you is to look inside yourself and identify what, exactly, you want. Dream big. Write it all out in specific detail. And then create new goals based on what you discover about yourself.

Do You Lack Clarity on the Disciplines Required to Succeed?

Others who cite fear of failure as the reason why they’re not more successful have failed the next step after creating goals… gaining clarity on how to achieve them.

It’s one thing to have goals. It’s another thing entirely to know how you’re going to achieve them.

When you don’t have that clarity, it feels defeating. You don’t know what to do next. You’re looking out into the fog and just guessing.

But once you figure it out, you’ll see exactly what you need to do and feel energized and excited to attack each and every day.

So the key is reverse-engineering your goals down to the smallest actions that create them. I’ve walked you through this process many times before. (Click that link if it doesn’t ring a bell.)

Then commit to those activities as daily disciplines and inject some form of accountability to make sure they get accomplished.

Do You Have the Work Ethic to Follow Through?

This is the big one.

When people say they fear failure or fear success, it often boils down to one thing…

They simply don’t want to do the work. They don’t possess the work ethic necessary to achieve monumental victories.

Now, if that stings a little, it’s time to look inward and be honest with yourself.

It’s time to either lower your aspirations to meet your work ethic or step up and commit to DOING THE WORK on a daily basis.

No one promised you that success in real estate is easy. It’s not. It takes a lot of work and a ton of discipline. The “freedom” that attracted many people to this industry can be a double-edged sword. It requires you to be willing to do the work, because if you don’t step up and do the work, it doesn’t matter to anyone but yourself (and your family).

If you don’t do the work, someone else will. They’ll shoot that video. They’ll make their calls. They’ll take that listing. They’ll help those buyers find the perfect home. They’ll live the life they’ve always wanted.

So it’s time to get real with yourself… Do you have the work ethic to succeed without someone hovering over you 24/7? If not, it’s time to find a solution (yes, like hiring a coach) or perhaps seek a different career path.

Do You Have the Mental Toughness to Keep Doing the Work?

Fear of failure goes hand-in-hand with fear of rejection.

Pure and simple, to achieve success as a real estate professional, you have to accept that you’re going to face rejection.

Lots of it.

And that can be difficult to handle. It requires exceptional mental toughness and the ability to bounce back after a setback. It certainly helps to know your numbers so you can “play the numbers game” and look at it from the perspective that every rejection is getting you closer to that next “yes.”

The only real way to develop that mental toughness is from training, putting yourself in the fire, and working yourself out of it.

Are you willing to go there?