Conquering fear mountain
A version of the talk I didn’t do*
*02/11/16 edit: Hey all. So, bad news; this talk didn’t happen. Skip forward to Chapter 170 to find out why, and read about the lessons I learned as a result.
It’s ironic that for a talk about fear, I hesitated to accept the invitation to speak because I was scared. But I said yes in the end, so that’s what matters most.
It was actually originally suggested I speak about the fear I’ve overcome during over 160 days of daily blogging. But after a bit of thinking, I wanted to go deeper than that.
I’ve never been scared to write every day. I’ve always known that execution of an idea matters infinitely more than the idea itself. It’s who I am, it’s in my DNA. Talking about that wouldn’t give you (the audience) much to take away. But I think you’d all find something in me exploring why I’m built the way I am.
I’m a storyteller, first and foremost. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to read. It’s the reason why I enjoy writing so much. I’m obsessed with the story. I want to read the best ones and write better ones. I write every day now because I know that my storytelling will only improve if I practice daily.
It’s a proactive mindset. I write to improve even when I don’t need to. I read to learn even when it’s not required. And I conquer fear even when there doesn’t appear to be any fear to conquer.
Let me explain.
I didn’t say yes to my first ever planned public talk because, in one solitary moment, I decided that I wanted to do my first ever planned public talk. The yes I gave when I decided to speak was the result of months, if not years, of proactive fear conquering. Proactive comfort zone stretching. It didn’t happen overnight.
I have a friend who teaches a great metaphor for proactive confidence building called the Confidence Castle. He teaches that, through placing brick after brick, doing little confidence booster after little confidence booster, you’ll one day have a whole castle of confidence to make use of. He encourages people to proactively find these booster opportunities, not wait for them to magically happen.
And it’s the same when you’re trying to conquer Fear Mountain. As you’re walking up it, those individual steps don’t ever feel like a lot. But when you eventually overcome the fear that was holding you back, then turn around to see the path you’ve walked, you’ll suddenly discover that you’ve climbed a mountain without even knowing it.
So be patient. You don’t need to conquer fear right this second. You don’t even need to conquer fear today, or the next day, or the day after that.
Just take your time, forever be proactive and keep moving forward.
