I think Brian Tracy puts it best..."It is not failure itself that holds you back; it is fear of failure that paralyzes you." So true! How often has this happened to you? You have a big decision to make but you are paralyzed. All you can think about is what will happen if you fail. I think we all face fear of failure to some degree. But successful people have learned to manage their fears - to talk to themselves instead of listening to their fears. And when they do fail at something, which is inevitable, they pick themselves up, learn their lesson, and begin again. How can you stop fearing failure?

1. Don't think too highly of yourself - I think this would be main thing to help you stop fearing failure. When you have an elevated view of your importance, you will be more afraid of what people will think of you if you fail.

2. Learn to laugh at yourself - when you do fail, which is inevitable, laugh at yourself! Nothing will drive your fear away faster than being quick to acknowledge your mistakes with a laugh.

3. Take calculated risks - this means don't jump before you look. You will have more confidence in your decisions and less reason to fear failure when you research thoroughly before jumping into a relationship, business, or job.

When you do fail, always analyze your failure so that you can avoid making same mistake again. Remember what Henry Ford said, "Failure is opportunity to begin again more intelligently."

Write your answers for each of surviving ideas and go to next step.

6. Can I Afford It? Run your surviving inspirations through your financial life. Ask yourself,

·What will it cost to change? ·Can I live on what I could make in this new career? ·Can I learn to live with less?

Record your answers and go to next step.

7. Am I Willing to Deal With My Fears? What, you have no career ideas or inspirations that survived? Congratulations, you have met your fears!

Relax, you’re not alone!

It’s important that your mind, will and heart are all aligned, or you’ll run into problems. Careers your mind likes but your heart doesn’t will be short-lived. Careers your heart might like don’t even get consideration if your mind allows its fears to stop you dead in your tracks. Your will doesn’t have clear direction if your head and heart aren’t aligned.

Run each of your inspirations through your mind, will and heart. Release those inspirations that don’t have energy in all three of your mind, will and heart. You won’t have enough energy to try them effectively. Hold onto inspirations for which your mind, will and heart are aligned.

Run those inspirations through your self-esteem. Ask yourself,

·Do I have guts to pull off this career change, even if others disapprove? ·Can I grow up and not need others approval to change? ·Am I willing to change my social group to pursue this new career?

Now that you’re feeling bold and independent, run ideas that survived through your financial screen again. Weigh your desire for a career that satisfies you with your need to remain unchanged economically. Ask yourself these tough questions:

·What economic changes must I make in order for this career to be feasible? ·Would living more simply (read: less expensively) feel better if I felt better about my career? ·What expenses that help me cope with my current career won’t be necessary if I change? ·What’s more important -- feeling good about myself or having things?

Finally, take hardy career inspirations that remain and ask,

·Can I see myself putting this inspiration into practice? ·Am I ready to birth this career inspiration into world? ·Am I ready to share energy of my career idea with world?

Shake tree of your fertile imagination and see what career inspiration falls from it. Some ideas are ripe for picking; others need a bit more time on tree to ripen. Hold onto those inspirations that didn’t survive – you’ll want to review them when you change careers next time!

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