What if you were told by an ancient oracle that you would become the wealthiest, healthiest and happiest person in the world, but you first had to fail at least 10,000 times before achieving these states?
Would you allow failure into your life, then? Might you be eager to attempt all that you fear the most in order to live the life that you envision?
What if I told you that ancient oracle actually lives within you, not outside of you, and that the mantras you repeat in your mind every day wield enough power to make whatever it is that you are focusing on an absolute reality?
The following are words from incredibly inspiring people who realized that failure is not to be feared but simply accepted as a stepping stone to greatness:
“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much 
temporary defeat and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a
man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is quit. And that is exactly
what the majority of men and women do.” – Napoleon Hill
“Everyone faces difficulties every step of the way. The difference
between high achievers and low achievers is simply that high achievers
utilize adversity and struggles for growth, while low achievers allow
difficulties and adversity to overwhelm them and leave them discouraged
and dejected.” –Brian Tracy
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
-Robert F. Kennedy
What do you feel that you have failed at in your life up to this point? Looking back on the situation now, can you discover at least one success that was born from what seemed like a loss at the time?
What characteristics did you display? What did you learn and how did you grow from this experience?
Take about 15 minutes to really think about this. Meditate on how you felt at the time in the face of what you believed was a failure and then move your thoughts to how you feel right now. Can you see that this was simply a stepping stone in your life?
Take out a journal and write down everything that you have been fearing to fail. Your list might look something like this:
- I am fearful of speaking in front of a large audience.
- I am fearful of developing referral relationships.
- I am fearful of not appearing knowledgeable in my industry.
Once you feel that you have released every fear from your mind, go back and strike out the fear and write one small step that you could be excited about taking that would bring you closer to moving beyond the fear. For example:
I am fearful of speaking in front of a large audience. I am excited to take my presentation home and invite two friends over to be my audience.
Commit each month to achieving these small steps and then journaling to discover what each stepping stone on your path looks like for the next month and the next. Before you know it, this accumulation of small victories will bring you to your ultimate goal.