Give Yourself PermissionWritten by Dave Balch
It is September 14, 2001 and I am sitting here trying to think of something to share; frankly, I can't. I'm still in shock over events of last few days so I'm going to offer this:I have always maintained that TV is archenemy of home-based business owner because it's so easy to get sucked-in and completely distracted. I've tried to work while TV is on, but I'm only at 50% capacity at best. I suppose that's better than sitting on couch with a bowl of popcorn, but I prefer operating at a higher level than that. The solution I have always recommended is to never turn on a TV in first place. It's amazing how easy it is to avoid plot lines when you don't know what they are! That said, when there is a major news event I find myself in terrible conflict; should I keep my nose to grindstone or just 'give-in' to temptation to keep up with what's going on? I have found myself in this predicament during major events such as Columbine shootings, Northridge earthquake, Gulf War, and Challenger space shuttle disaster. When something happens that is so devastating, so traumatic, so incomprehensible as terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon, I am not doing myself a favor by 'resisting'. I NEED to keep up with details. I NEED to know what's happening. I NEED to feel involved in some fashion, even if only vicariously. So I gave myself permission, and just left TV on.I didn't even pretend that I was trying to get anything done; I just stayed glued to tube to stay informed. Occasionally I had to remind myself to breathe.
| | Be AfraidWritten by Dave Balch
There's no doubt about it: fear holds people back. Period. Fear is probably one of most important obstacles to overcome in order to be successful. "Fear of what?" you may ask. Fear of failure (you probably guessed that one) and fear of success.Fear of success??? Absolutely! People fear success because there is a lot of pressure to stay at top when they get there, and there is feeling that they don't deserve what they've achieved; someone will eventually discover that fact and it will all go away. I saw an interview of Chevy Chase last night and he said that most of celebrities he's ever known feel like someone will "discover" that they really have no talent after all. I think that a lot of people get to a certain level of success and stay there because they just don't feel comfortable at a higher level. In retrospect, I think that may have happened to me and caused me to sort of slack off when I got to a comfortable income level. Looking back I actually felt a little fear at idea of making more money than I already was, and it held me back. People fear failure because their self-esteem is too tied-up in what they are doing. If they fail then they are somehow diminished and less of a person. And, they are concerned about what others will think if they make a mistake or if something isn't perfect because they depend on approval of others in order to feel good about themselves When you are afraid, you go into a protective mode that includes, but is not limited to: 1. Giving up too easily. You can't be good at what you do if you give up too easily. Some things just have to be hammered-on repeatedly until you get results you want. Fear of failure is a self-fulfilling prophecy, because when you give up too easily failure is almost assured. Weird how that works, don't you think?
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