I read it many years ago and I was disappointed by content of this book that has helped a lot of people take control of their fears. Why? Because I believe we all have power to go far beyond feeling fear.

And I really think it is important to learn how to transform fear into courage by learning how to use more of your mind and how to take charge of your emotions.

There are two ways to take fear and transform it into a different emotional state:

- Release fear by letting go of it.

- Change way you represent experience so that it no longer makes you feel fearful.

Today I want to look at changing how you represent experiences to yourself.

1 Pick a person you deal with on a regular basis who you find intimidating. Get started by choosing someone who causes you to feel mild fear.

2 Ask yourself -- what does it get me feeling fear around this person?

Typically you will answer that fear causes you to be more alert and careful. However irony is that when you feel fear you are less capable of responding well to challenges of situation.

Let me give you an example. When I lived corporate sales life a number of years ago I had a crazy boss.

He would scream down phone at me, thump desk with his fist in meetings and threaten to fire me if certain goals were not achieved. I never took this personally because he treated other people in same way. Still I did feel fear when dealing with him.

What did I get by feeling fear?

It meant I was careful to say right thing and to do my job to best of my abilities to ensure he had no reason to have another go at me.

Nevertheless it was not an ideal situation!

3 If you cannot influence behavior of intimidator change how you feel.

In case of my boss I matched his behavior to get rapport. When he shouted at me I raised my voice to speak back. When he slammed desk I became more animated in how I talked and I used my hands more when expressing myself.

This pacing will help. However it is not enough you also need to change how you feel.

Before you start working with following approach make sure you are feeling energetic and resourceful otherwise you could get dragged back into fear itself.

Everyone gets discouraged at times however there are a number of key differences between people who keep on going and those who give up:

1 Focus On Your Goal Not On Your Problems

One of my mentors is a highly successful property developer and he loves solving problems. All day long he can take on one problem after next and just keep going.

How does he do this when most people would feel overwhelmed?

He understands importance of focus. He never loses sight of his goals and his goals so excite him that problems are nothing more than stepping stones to achievement of his outcomes.

If you are feeling discouraged it is very likely because your focus is on what has not worked; your setbacks and your fears.

Discipline your mind to focus on your goals and discouragement will fade into distance.

Expect to learn by trying new things and to find out what works by making mistakes. Then keep adjusting your approach until you get results you want.

I went from being shy with people to developing confidence and charm by trying new approaches day after day until I found what worked for me.

It is only because I knew what my goal was that I was able to deal with frustrations and discouragement along way.

2 Ask For Help

You do not have to deal with everything alone. Ask for help from someone who is qualified to help you and act on their good advice.

Two minds are better than one especially when your mind is full of discouragement.

And, you will feel stronger knowing that someone else is backing you, keen to see you succeed.

When you think about it.