Break the Chains of Fear

Issue #50

Fear is a powerful force that affects the lives of most creative leaders. Some people are afraid to leave their houses, some, like me, are afraid of heights, and others are afraid of elevators. The list could go on and on. A person who claims that he is not afraid of anything is either delusional or a liar. We are all afraid of something.

It takes courage to look fear in the face and still do something when you are afraid. If you give into fear, you will freeze on the spot and not move. Creative leaders face a lot of rejection of their ideas and work. But we must keep going.

What is the worst thing that can happen? People don't like us. So what? Every writer, artist, singer, actor, or business executive has people who don't like them. No one is liked by everyone. So why should you and I expect to be liked by everyone? In fact, think about the famous people whom you don't like. You, in a sense, are rejecting them.

I learned a powerful lesson from a professional speaker. He told me that 10% of my audience would not like me. They may not like the color of my hair, the sound of my voice, or the tie I wear. And this has held true. Ten percent of my audience don't like my loud voice, so I focus on the other 90% who compliment my voice. I don't let my fear of rejection prevent me from speaking.

Rejection is a good thing. It keeps us humble. We are not perfect, so we should keep success from going to our heads. Rejection lets us know that we have found people who dislike our work, which is okay. So don't let fear stop you from creating and producing new work.

Have you ever let fear stand in the way your doing something that you desired to do? Most of us have. And yet, if we stop and think about it, all life is a risk.

While eating carrots, we can choke and die. I almost did during a business lunch. Walking down the street at 6 a.m., we can be hit by a speeding car. It happened to Stephen King, the novelist, during his morning jog. Taking a shower, we can slip and fall and hit our heads. We can visit a doctor and be told that we have cancer and have only six weeks to live.

All life is fraught with risk. So why haven't you tried that new idea, technique, or process? Are you afraid you will fail?

Fear is powerful and often stops us from doing what we want or need to do. We all have dreams and hopes, but sometimes, we are not courageous enough to take that first step into the unknown. That first step is often the most difficult. In our minds, we think of all the things that could go wrong. We should instead focus on our dreams and what we want to accomplish. What steps are you going to take today to overcome your fears?

As creative leaders, we can be very sensitive to the comments of others. If people negate our ideas, we may stop creating altogether. We face rejection from the world every day. "Oh, you are a writer? Have you written anything that I might have read?" We face rejection when we submit our work to magazines and publishers.

Rejection is common for creative leaders like writers, painters, and actors. When an actor auditions for a part in a play or a movie, he is judged not only for his acting talent but also his appearance. He is either too short, too tall, too fat, or too ugly to get the part.

Some people will not even submit their creative work to the public's scrutiny. They refuse to give others the opportunity to judge or criticize them.

So, the message in this quote is compelling. Surround yourself with people who respect the work you do, who don't criticize you, who support you and compliment you. The friends we choose are very important to our success.

Plant seeds of hope in the hearts of others.