PODCAST

Face fears, play the game, invisible ink : To win the game, you must play the game

Apr 17, 2023

"If you break the human struggle down to one word, it's CONFRONT. And so, I approach everything that way." - Jerry Seinfeld

Habit Tip:

There's one habit that will help you overcome all your fears and worries.

Do something(s) that scares you daily.

Are you putting off a project? Do it.

Is there a conversation you're avoiding? Have it.

Not sure if that thing is ready to publish? Publish it.

Make it a daily habit to act on the things you have been avoiding. Worry is based entirely on what we imagine will happen, not what actually will.

I once heard the late Dr. Wayne Dyre refer to FEAR as False Evidence Appearing Real. The same goes for worry.

By acting on the thing we've been worried about, we eliminate worry because now we have a real result.

Real results are the only thing we can work with. 

If you want to stop worry and fear in their tracks, follow Jerry's advice and "confront".

One Idea to Explore:

To win the game you must play the game. 

My niece was recently in a play at her local elementary school—she was playing the snake.

She was nervous but she practiced hard. Opening night was in front of a bunch of other students and parents.

She had a lot of fun and was feeling good until after the play she overheard some other students laughing with each other. They were saying how cheesy the play was and how their least favorite characters was the snake.

"Oh no!" She thought. "I was the snake."

This is one of our biggest fears when trying something new. What will they say? What if I mess it up? What if they don't like me?

But the reality is, the job of a critic is easy. They risk little and gain little. They try little and learn little. As Teddy Roosevelt says, they are the "cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

If we never play the game, if we never get in the arena, we can never earn the reward available there.

Yes, there will also be defeat. But oh how much sweeter the victory when we have known defeat.

My niece spoke with her mother after and told her at first she felt really bad about what she heard. But then she decided it didn't matter what they thought and she still had a lot of fun.

She's already signed up to do the next play in her school.

One Great Read or Listen

I'm convinced the most powerful way to share ideas is through stories. It's built into our psychology as humans— we remember ideas and understand concepts better when they are presented in story form.  

Over the years I've read a lot of books on the subject in order to improve my own storytelling abilities

One of the simples and most effective books on the subject is called Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald.  

If you want to be a better speaker, writer, coach and leader. This book can help you understand how to share stories that are clear and powerful.

B.T.W. Have you joined the Magic Monday movement yet? Get a short email every Monday packed with our best tips for crushing your goals and living a life of greater freedom and contribution. 

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