56 replies
It is always amazing to think that a small idea can lead to something big. One of the harder things though, is thinking or creating a concept which is relevant in todays markets. So many times, people may actually think of something or discover something that fits this criteria, but they never act to implement the idea.

Does this sound like you?

If you used to sound like this but don't anymore, Congratulations

The fear of failure is often one of the most predominant factors when it comes to doing anything, regardless if it is in IM or in real life.

So how can we conquer this fear?

I believe that giving something a go, taking action, is the way to go. However, it's not the good old "have an idea, work on it for 1hour and wait for the success" it is to work on it for a good deal of time and giving it your all.

After you commit to something, the result will most likely be one of these options

  1. You Believe you Failed
  2. You Believe you did Ok
  3. You Believe you did Well
In this circumstance you would be happy with outcomes 2 and 3. But what if you could be happy with your "failed project"?

I think that if you alter your conception of the term 'failure' you can really change your outlook on life.

Firstly, I'd like you to consider some of these quotes

"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely."
~ Henry Ford

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
~ Thomas Alva Edison

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."
~ Sir Winston Churchill

Here we see how other people have percieved "failure" in a positive way. The belief that an undesired outcome can be beneficial to you some way in the future, in my mind is the way to go, and I challenge you to take a look at how you percieve failure and to think of how it can make you a better person in what you are trying to achieve as opposed to viewing it as a negative element of life.

Jackson
#failure #fear
  • Profile picture of the author danielp310
    Very inspiring ...do you know who the author of this quote is?

    "There are three types of people in the world:
    Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who ask What happened?"

    it is now one of my favorite quotes.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post


    The fear of failure is often one of the most predominant factors when it comes to doing anything, regardless if it is in IM or in real life.


    Jackson
    According to who? I haven't met many people whose main problem is fear of failure in IM.
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    • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
      Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post

      According to who? I haven't met many people whose main problem is fear of failure in IM.
      Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like in real life peoples main problem is the fear of failure in IM, rather in IM the fear of failure is a big hurdle faced when trying to make money online, or even a failure itself.
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      • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
        Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post

        in IM the fear of failure is a big hurdle faced when trying to make money online, or even a failure itself.
        Is it really? where did you read this? It's news to me. I've coached a lot of people over the years and lack of action and focus always seemed the main problem.
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        • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
          Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post

          Is it really? where did you read this? It's news to me. I've coached a lot of people over the years and lack of action and focus always seemed the main problem.
          I like hearing what others have to say so I'm wondering, from your experience what is the main cause of lack of action and focus?
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          • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
            Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post

            I like hearing what others have to say so I'm wondering, from your experience what is the main cause of lack of action and focus?
            Not having a plan. They treat it like it's a game and all you can do is hit and hope. They think that since you "can't tell what will really work" you have to guess - so why have a plan?
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            • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
              Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post

              Not having a plan. They treat it like it's a game and all you can do is hit and hope. They think that since you "can't tell what will really work" you have to guess - so why have a plan?

              Yeah, now that you say that, it sounds like that might be more of a problem. Thanks for sharing.
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        • Profile picture of the author Justin Jordan
          Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post

          Is it really? where did you read this? It's news to me. I've coached a lot of people over the years and lack of action and focus always seemed the main problem.
          Well, that's a self selectiong sample, isn't it? If you're coaching them, they've already jumped past a certain amount of fear and into doing something.

          Fear of failure isn't the only reason people fail, but I've seen enough people never start anything they want to do, from losing weight to reading a novel, to beliew that fearing you'll suck is a significant reason for inaction.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Ward
    I definitely worry about doing the "wrong" things - maybe not a direct fear of failure, but a fear of putting a lot of effort and time into something that won't show results. Unfortunately, this just leads to not doing anything, which is even worse.
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  • Profile picture of the author foxanthony
    I don't fail, I learn ways of not doing things.
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    • Profile picture of the author rcritchett
      Originally Posted by foxanthony View Post

      I don't fail, I learn ways of not doing things.
      You sound like Thomas Edison! Very Cool! Great response.
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  • Profile picture of the author rcritchett
    Great post! This is right up my alley! Failure is such a dominant restrictive force in most people. The fact is, we're scared! I was deeply afraid of just going for it in life for years, which is why I never went for it in life. Once we can associate great emotions and an invigorating reward with failing (because we realize it's the only way to create expansion), it becomes comfortable to fail! Training your mind to LOVE just going out there and engaging, is a great thing. It's only a waste of time if you think it is. I've learned so many valuable lessons from putting my neck on the line, and have gotten immune to nervousness about it as well! A great fear to have is the fear of mediocrity! I fear that more than failing, and I think we can all agree that has massive power! Thanks for posting this, we can all pull something extremely valuable from it.
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  • Profile picture of the author sonjay
    Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post

    "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."
    ~ Sir Winston Churchill
    You hit the bullseye!
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  • Profile picture of the author winds
    ...yeah, this would've been better of in the 'Mind Warriors' category.

    Still, just because you've read some inspiring quotes and read some new age feel good books doesn't mean it's true. I can say all day that I have "limiting beliefs" and a "fear of failure", but at the end of the day I still don't have a successful business - sure, it's great that 10 or 20 people never gave up and then succeeded, but do you really think there aren't hundreds of thousands of successful people out there who didn't just put in their time, made all the smart moves, and capitalized on the correct opportunities?

    Fear of success? Sounds like self-validation surrounded by a lack of confidence. You can either play the game and lose, or you can act like a victim and never really try to win. Either way, you're still going to lose to the team who puts in the effort to winning
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    • Profile picture of the author Vogin
      Opposites define each other, if there were no failures, we wouldn't know that we have indeed succeded...
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      • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
        Originally Posted by Vogin View Post

        Opposites define each other, if there were no failures, we wouldn't know that we have indeed succeded...
        They're both just labels... Not real.
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        • Profile picture of the author halmo
          Originally Posted by Vogin View Post

          Opposites define each other, if there were no failures, we wouldn't know that we have indeed succeded...

          Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post

          They're both just labels... Not real.
          Andy, are you saying this in regards to IM, or anything else too?
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          • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
            Originally Posted by halmo View Post

            Andy, are you saying this in regards to IM, or anything else too?
            IM - but it actually applies to everything I believe.
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      • Profile picture of the author moneyspills
        Originally Posted by Vogin View Post

        Opposites define each other, if there were no failures, we wouldn't know that we have indeed succeded...
        That's indeed the spirit of what I'm talking about here
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  • Profile picture of the author moneyspills
    I have never failed for once, I only discover better ways of doing things...



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  • Not so much failure, but the costs some failures can cost you.
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    • Profile picture of the author moneyspills
      Originally Posted by Jason Perez O'Connor View Post

      Not so much failure, but the costs some failures can cost you.
      That's why we must seek advice from those who have been there
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  • Profile picture of the author TSDMike
    Is there any difference between trying to achieve and failing, and failing to take action at all?
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    • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
      Originally Posted by TSDMike View Post

      Is there any difference between trying to achieve and failing, and failing to take action at all?
      Well you can learn from your failures but you can't learn from failing to take action. Unless you learn that $0 is something you don't want.
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      • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
        Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post

        Well you can learn from your failures but you can't learn from failing to take action. Unless you learn that $0 is something you don't want.
        And if you just used different words - and instead of saying "failing" said "testing" - you're good to go. You only fail when you stop trying.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by TSDMike View Post

      Is there any difference between trying to achieve and failing, and failing to take action at all?
      I feel that there is a huge difference. If you try to achieve and fail, at least you've picked up some experience implementing a method or system, and if you have the right attitude you can definitely learn something from that failure. If you fail to take action, then you haven't gained any real experience at all, and you won't have learned as much as the person who took action and failed.

      Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author padre
      Originally Posted by TSDMike View Post

      Is there any difference between trying to achieve and failing, and failing to take action at all?
      As the philosopher, Wayne Gretsky, once said;

      "100% of the shots you don't take, don't go in."


      Cheers
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  • Profile picture of the author RunningBear
    I just posted this response on another thread, but think it is more appropriate here. I had to laugh when I read this. I just wrote an article for my blog titled "Failing Your Way to Success." LOL My fear of online failure has been preventing me to do the things that I need to do (mostly marketing efforts) to succeed. I am trying to embrace the fact that failure is a natural part of success. Really, this is not a plug for my blog. It is just good to know that others are feeling the same way.
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  • Profile picture of the author LetsGoViral
    As long as you are not trying, you are failing by default. So stop failing and start trying
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    • Profile picture of the author donhx
      There is a false association between failure and success. That should not be, and I think many of the quotes here recognize that.

      The true association is between failure and bravery. If we are brave we will succeed.

      "The bravest thing you can do when you are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly."

      --Novelist Corra Harris
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      • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
        I have also coached a number of people in IM and fear of failure is definitely a factor in some cases.

        Yes, they may have been lacking a plan before we began working together, but then there are cases where they HAVE the plan, HAVE the motivation, COMMIT to action and then week after week, can't seem to do the work. Sometimes it is laziness or not having a big enough WHY, but many times it is fear of failure that keeps them from jumping in with both feet.

        The higher the level of desperation, the more the fear of failure comes into play.

        In any case, we overcome that pretty quickly by raising the fear associated with NOT acting much higher than the fear associated with setbacks or progressive learning -- it is real though and must be dealt with.

        Jeff
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      • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
        Originally Posted by donhx View Post

        There is a false association between failure and success. That should not be, and I think many of the quotes here recognize that.

        The true association is between failure and bravery. If we are brave we will succeed.
        I agree wholeheartedly, and I think that we can trace that false association back to our schooldays when we were brainwashed with the idea of "passing or failing" and with the idea that answers were either "right or wrong". These notions only offer two alternatives, and moreover, they carry a kind of finality with them that says once you've "failed" or given the "wrong answer", the game is up and the result has been recorded.

        A much better framework for teaching would be to judge activities as either "Not trying" or as "An honest attempt". Being judged as "not trying" catches out the lazy and the half-hearted, but giving youngsters credit for making "an honest attempt" encourages youngsters to just have a go, and gain valuable feedback about how they performed for themselves.

        ...Which takes us back to the quotes in the OP.
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        • Profile picture of the author paulie888
          Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

          I agree wholeheartedly, and I think that we can trace that false association back to our schooldays when we were brainwashed with the idea of "passing or failing" and with the idea that answers were either "right or wrong". These notions only offer two alternatives, and moreover, they carry a kind of finality with them that says once you've "failed" or given the "wrong answer", the game is up and the result has been recorded.

          A much better framework for teaching would be to judge activities as either "Not trying" or as "An honest attempt". Being judged as "not trying" catches out the lazy and the half-hearted, but giving youngsters credit for making "an honest attempt" encourages youngsters to just have a go, and gain valuable feedback about how they performed for themselves.

          ...Which takes us back to the quotes in the OP.
          In my opinion, I think this pretty much explains why you don't see many people with advanced degrees delving deeply into IM. When you amass too much advanced education, things start getting very black and white and answers are either "wrong" or "right", and "failure" is not looked upon very kindly.

          Ironically, this is exactly the opposite of what you need to succeed in IM. Without experimentation and the resulting interim failures, I think it's next to impossible to really succeed at IM.

          Paul
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          • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
            Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

            In my opinion, I think this pretty much explains why you don't see many people with advanced degrees delving deeply into IM. When you amass too much advanced education, things start getting very black and white and answers are either "wrong" or "right", and "failure" is not looked upon very kindly.

            Ironically, this is exactly the opposite of what you need to succeed in IM. Without experimentation and the resulting interim failures, I think it's next to impossible to really succeed at IM.

            Paul
            Yeah, it's interesting to think how/if many people actually go to uni's to try and get better at IM. I'm sure it would help in some respect, but as you said the correct mindset/execution would be the real way to achieve success as opposed to a degree.

            In regards to people with advanced degrees delving deeply into IM, I'm sure there are some who just by change get into it by either being approached by someone with an IM background or they are looking to some how expand there business and are lead to it.
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            • Profile picture of the author paulie888
              Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post

              Yeah, it's interesting to think how/if many people actually go to uni's to try and get better at IM. I'm sure it would help in some respect, but as you said the correct mindset/execution would be the real way to achieve success as opposed to a degree.

              In regards to people with advanced degrees delving deeply into IM, I'm sure there are some who just by change get into it by either being approached by someone with an IM background or they are looking to some how expand there business and are lead to it.
              I believe there are a few universities out there (and I'm sure more will appear in due time) that have some sort of an online marketing curriculum, but from what I've read they seem to be heavily biased towards marketing for large corporations, which is somewhat different from entrepreneurial-type internet marketing.

              Of course there are people with advanced degrees who are very much into internet marketing, but they are pretty much the minority, and I'd mostly classify them as the "type-A" risk-takers who want to break out of the typical corporate 9-5 jobs that are the commonplace domain of degree holders.
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          • Profile picture of the author halmo
            Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

            In my opinion, I think this pretty much explains why you don't see many people with advanced degrees delving deeply into IM. When you amass too much advanced education, things start getting very black and white and answers are either "wrong" or "right", and "failure" is not looked upon very kindly.

            Ironically, this is exactly the opposite of what you need to succeed in IM. Without experimentation and the resulting interim failures, I think it's next to impossible to really succeed at IM.

            Paul
            Even in life -- not only in IM.



            Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post

            In regards to people with advanced degrees delving deeply into IM, I'm sure there are some who just by change get into it by either being approached by someone with an IM background or they are looking to some how expand there business and are lead to it.
            ... or because their real personality is that of the IM personality (freedom of doing what they want to do, passionate exploration, willing to take calculated risks for greater reward, etc.), and are happy to not be part of the stereotyped corporate culture. Still can love to have the knowledge, but the freedom means more to them (even if takes trial and error to achieve it). (And, yes, this is the minority.)
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  • Profile picture of the author mvidales
    you only fail when you quit. It really is that simple!
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    Dude I really needed to read this post.

    I failed massively online...at first, and had amassed at bout a 10k credit card bill when i started buying everything under the sun.

    But I think I had to fail for me to get off my butt and make stuff work...to get me to take action. The funny part is now that I have several highly succeful businesses, I look back on this and it makes me more humble i guess.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by celente View Post

      Dude I really needed to read this post.

      I failed massively online...at first, and had amassed at bout a 10k credit card bill when i started buying everything under the sun.

      But I think I had to fail for me to get off my butt and make stuff work...to get me to take action. The funny part is now that I have several highly succeful businesses, I look back on this and it makes me more humble i guess.
      You're right, sometimes failure can be the best motivator of all, if you let it. Also, having failures every now and then is not a bad thing at all, as it keeps you humble and focused, and you won't grow complacent.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Ward
    This thread has been a huge help. Thanks.
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    "Keep moving forward."
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    I really like the three quotes you included above from Ford, Edison and Churchill, as they were definitely adept at bouncing back from failures, and actually transformed them into stepping stones to success instead.
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    • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
      Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

      I really like the three quotes you included above from Ford, Edison and Churchill, as they were definitely adept at bouncing back from failures, and actually transformed them into stepping stones to success instead.
      Am glad you like them, I quite enjoy them too.

      It's quite funny though, I read/heard one of them the other day for the first time. I then ran into the quote again today, and then decided to include it in this post.

      It's amazing how sometimes things aren't in your life, and then constantly appear after you notice it.
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      • Profile picture of the author sirtom
        Fear of failure is so right..

        I once did a series of 9-10ish interviews and sat on them for over a year while I tinkered with membership models and re-writing the sales letter a bunch of times... All because I didn't want to launch the series and NOT have every aspect of every detail in place.

        That inevitably led to both a huge learning experience and money wasted.

        It was the fear of failure that kept me from launching it, the fear of not having everything just right.

        Yeah, I learned to knock that off lol.

        -Tom
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        • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
          Originally Posted by sirtom View Post

          Fear of failure is so right..

          I once did a series of 9-10ish interviews and sat on them for over a year while I tinkered with membership models and re-writing the sales letter a bunch of times... All because I didn't want to launch the series and NOT have every aspect of every detail in place.

          That inevitably led to both a huge learning experience and money wasted.

          It was the fear of failure that kept me from launching it, the fear of not having everything just right.

          Yeah, I learned to knock that off lol.

          -Tom
          Ouch. Did you end up releasing them? If so, how did they go?
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          • Profile picture of the author sirtom
            Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post

            Ouch. Did you end up releasing them? If so, how did they go?
            Haha.. Yeah I did, which taught me another important thing really quickly:

            Figure out what the market wants BEFORE creating a product. Don't just guess and then wonder why it doesn't sell.


            Lol it's so much easier to sell something you already know people want to buy
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            • Profile picture of the author Janet Matthews
              Fear of failure at its deepest level for many people online is fear of wasting yet more money in the search for success.

              Having taught young people with behavioral and learning difficulties I can assure you that fear of failure shows it self in many ways and is not always obvious. The most common way of all is inaction. "If I don't try I can't fail"

              In my experience this applies also to many people trying to make a living in IM
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              • Profile picture of the author Darla
                Originally Posted by ljmatt View Post

                Fear of failure at its deepest level for many people online is fear of wasting yet more money in the search for success.

                Having taught young people with behavioral and learning difficulties I can assure you that fear of failure shows it self in many ways and is not always obvious. The most common way of all is inaction. "If I don't try I can't fail"

                In my experience this applies also to many people trying to make a living in IM

                I can identify with this 100%. I wasted a lot of money trying to find success online, and that can turn into a viscous cycle. I almost decided to quit all together since I drained my savings account "chasing after the wind". Further analysis helped me to see that my approach was dead wrong. I was buying one "shiny thing" after the other and following advice from the WRONG people. So I decided to try it "one more time" and do things differently this time around. Inaction or giving up all together are the ultimate tragedies.
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            • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
              Originally Posted by sirtom View Post

              Haha.. Yeah I did, which taught me another important thing really quickly:

              Figure out what the market wants BEFORE creating a product. Don't just guess and then wonder why it doesn't sell.


              Lol it's so much easier to sell something you already know people want to buy
              Haha, I was just going to write about that in another post.
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              • Profile picture of the author sirtom
                Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post

                Haha, I was just going to write about that in another post.
                Yeah dude, if you do I'll so comment on it haha..

                It was kinda painful, but like I said, it was a learning experience so it's all good..
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Maggs
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    • Profile picture of the author Janet Matthews
      Originally Posted by moonfish View Post

      I was never scared of failure...only of success. I know that sounds crazy, but my fear of success was holding me back.
      I understand what you mean - success brings with it a responsibility to maintain that success. You can no longer hide behind your laptop. That is scary!!!!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author jamjar919
    Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post

    "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
    ~ Thomas Alva Edison
    Oh. My. God. I Lol'ed
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    Feel free to ask me any IM related questions or add me on skype :D
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  • Profile picture of the author DJ Hughes
    I have used the 'fear of failure' as an excuse in the past, when the truth is failure was more my comfort zone and the real fear was success. If I failed there were a multitude of things I could blame it on. If I was successful and had trouble handling it, what could I blame? That's tougher.

    Once I was honest with myself, and I stopped sitting at the computer to spend endless hours 'moving dirt around' (as I called it), then I was able to produce something. Evidence of worthy time spent at the keyboard.

    ** Some construction zones are around for YEARS and all it looks like they're doing is moving dirt around. Nothing ever seems to get built! I was driving through a highway construction area that had been there for many years, when this dawned on me that is what I do at the computer! - Not anymore! Now I build. **
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    • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
      Originally Posted by Darla View Post

      I can identify with this 100%. I wasted a lot of money trying to find success online, and that can turn into a viscous cycle. I almost decided to quit all together since I drained my savings account "chasing after the wind". Further analysis helped me to see that my approach was dead wrong. I was buying one "shiny thing" after the other and following advice from the WRONG people. So I decided to try it "one more time" and do things differently this time around. Inaction or giving up all together are the ultimate tragedies.
      Yeah, it's hard aswell. Sometimes you don't buy anything for ages, but when you do buy something you buy a lot of things.

      Originally Posted by DJ Hughes View Post

      I have used the 'fear of failure' as an excuse in the past, when the truth is failure was more my comfort zone and the real fear was success. If I failed there were a multitude of things I could blame it on. If I was successful and had trouble handling it, what could I blame? That's tougher.

      Once I was honest with myself, and I stopped sitting at the computer to spend endless hours 'moving dirt around' (as I called it), then I was able to produce something. Evidence of worthy time spent at the keyboard.

      ** Some construction zones are around for YEARS and all it looks like they're doing is moving dirt around. Nothing ever seems to get built! I was driving through a highway construction area that had been there for many years, when this dawned on me that is what I do at the computer! - Not anymore! Now I build. **
      Yeah, i think it is a good feeling when you stop "pushing papers" and start doing something.
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      • Profile picture of the author goindeep
        I had a fear of failure and success for years.

        I think that the fear of success can be the silent killer between the two.

        I knew i had the fear of failure, but had no clue about the fear of success.

        It all stems from certain beliefs you have programmed into your head. Example:

        Most people think failure is bad. Failure hurts.

        Its all in the programmed linguistics.

        I knew that. But i never knew about the fear of success.

        Not to hijack your thread or anything. Sincerely. But to help people out i seriously think they consider that they have a seeded fear of success as well as failure. I recently replied to a dude on a thread:

        http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post2960730

        And remember:

        Re-program your brain. So that when you think of failure you only see TEMPORARY DEFEAT. You NEVER completely fail.

        "I didnt fail the test, i just found 100 ways to do it wrong" B.Franklin
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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart S
    Originally Posted by Andrei Rotariu View Post

    I had a fear of failure and success for years.

    I think that the fear of success can be the silent killer between the two.

    I knew i had the fear of failure, but had no clue about the fear of success.

    It all stems from certain beliefs you have programmed into your head. Example:

    Most people think failure is bad. Failure hurts.

    Its all in the programmed linguistics.

    I knew that. But i never knew about the fear of success.

    Not to hijack your thread or anything. Sincerely. But to help people out i seriously think they consider that they have a seeded fear of success as well as failure. I recently replied to a dude on a thread:

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post2960730

    And remember:

    Re-program your brain. So that when you think of failure you only see TEMPORARY DEFEAT. You NEVER completely fail.

    "I didnt fail the test, i just found 100 ways to do it wrong" B.Franklin
    No that's fine, I enjoyed the read.

    Lol, not sure if you also saw this quote from my OP

    Originally Posted by JacksonRiddle View Post


    "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
    ~ Thomas Edison
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