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Don't be afraid to look like an idiot!

by Marco Moeschter
11 replies
Are you afraid to look like an idiot in your videos, mails or blog posts?

I know this feeling really well but I also learned one thing early on and that is to give a sh....t about what other people think of me. I learned to let go the fear of looking stupid.

It's an illusion to think that all your great and crazy ideas will work. Most of the time you run those game changers which you think will bring you massive success and the y end up not working out.

That's how it is when you an entrepreneur. You have to be willing to try many things out and you'll be surprised that those things which you thing going to flop are the ideas that end up being successful.

While trying all those different things you'll make mistakes and sometimes people will start to talk bad about your or laugh at you. But keep in mind all successful people out there got someday something wrong and people laughed at them but did this stop them?

I don't think so.

Just keep going!!!
#afraid #idiot #mistakes #success #successful
  • Profile picture of the author Trey Morgan
    Great post man. We constantly need to remind ourselves that the fear of embarrassment and failure is something we need to embrace instead of run away from.


    It's impossible to achieve high levels of success without willing to look stupid and possibly fail. If success was easy and comfortable, then everybody would be successful. When you feel fear and you're afraid of looking stupid, that should be an indicator that you're moving in the right direction towards success.
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    • Profile picture of the author Marco Moeschter
      Originally Posted by Trey Morgan View Post

      Great post man. We constantly need to remind ourselves that the fear of embarrassment and failure is something we need to embrace instead of run away from.


      It's impossible to achieve high levels of success without willing to look stupid and possibly fail. If success was easy and comfortable, then everybody would be successful. When you feel fear and you're afraid of looking stupid, that should be an indicator that you're moving in the right direction towards success.
      Hey Trey that's right man. Moving in the direction where it get's uncomfortable isn't always easy for most people but like you said that's the only direction to go and that's the reason while not everybody is successful. I believe everything is manageable but sometimes it's just a bit harder and it requires to jump over a certain point!
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  • Profile picture of the author Slade556
    You make a good point, Marco! However, what about hiring someone to be "the face" of your videos or hiring content/copywriters to write your emails and articles for you? Many are doing it, probably because they are afraid to look stupid, just like you said.

    I do agree with you, feeling this way might hold us back and that's not OK if success is the goal, but there is also solution for everything you just presented.
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    • Profile picture of the author Marco Moeschter
      Originally Posted by Slade556 View Post

      You make a good point, Marco! However, what about hiring someone to be "the face" of your videos or hiring content/copywriters to write your emails and articles for you? Many are doing it, probably because they are afraid to look stupid, just like you said.

      I do agree with you, feeling this way might hold us back and that's not OK if success is the goal, but there is also solution for everything you just presented.
      There is always a solution for everything and I don't say that all this "embarrassing" tasks should be done by people them self. But most people just get stuck when there is the slightest fence like their own friends who telling them that what they do is silly and they should stop making their-self a fool. I mean things like that as well. When people should just don't care what others think.
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  • Profile picture of the author nickgregz
    Great point, I think that looking like and idiot/fear of embarrassment is the number one thing stopping ordinary people from trying to reach their goals. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, tend to treat their embarrassments as lessons and ways of toughening up.
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  • Profile picture of the author jmferret
    Indeed, looking "like an idiot" is very subjective. For many people who are really losers people who do something differently (building their own business for example) may look like idiots before and like scumbags after they succeed. It's just a form of rationalization.

    Should we care? Of course not!
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    • Profile picture of the author Marco Moeschter
      Originally Posted by jmferret View Post

      Indeed, looking "like an idiot" is very subjective. For many people who are really losers people who do something differently (building their own business for example) may look like idiots before and like scumbags after they succeed. It's just a form of rationalization.

      Should we care? Of course not!
      You are right we shouldn't care! We are entrepreneurs and we do what we have to do. When other people don't like it than that's their problem because it's our business and it's not likely that they do the work for us.
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  • Profile picture of the author tobyjensen
    Oh, wow, I just love people who can own being an idiot and pull it off. The ability of actors, comedians, leaders – anyone who is skilled enough to create the space to allow themselves to be vulnerable is absolutely amazing.

    For me, whether I care about what others think of me or not is secondary to being able to just own my own feelings and take responsibility for my actions. If I do this well then whether people think ill or well of me is truly beyond the ability to affect me too negatively.
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  • Profile picture of the author RichBeck
    All Entrepreneurs who put themselves "out there" risk looking like an idiot.... It comes with the territory.

    Look at Steve Jobs..... He was a colossal failure with the Lisa computer... He missed the sales projections on the Macintosh computer.... He was eventually "fired" from his OWN company.... Talk about embarrassing....

    He came back... and became the "miracle worker" at Apple.....

    The interesting thing is very few people remember the "failures".... They remember him for his "successful" products... and saving Apple.

    The takeaway from this is all "successful" people fail at one time or another....

    "I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan
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  • Profile picture of the author liaswift
    Very nice post. I was not very good at photoshop, and each time when i was trying to post pics on facebook and i always wondered if its not good at all or something else, just worried/afraid. Now is much better.
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