The More You Feed This Fear, The More You'll Soar

In my strategy sessions, I hear one core fear, repeated over and over, Candyman style.

If you're anything like me you worked hard, went to a good school, worked long hours, mastered skills, got good results, great feedback, turned 30, matured, saw others taking off in a way you envied or if you're a bigger person than me, were inspired by.

This gave you pause - what do they have that I'm missing? You grew older. Parts of your body that didn't hurt before started hurting. Hangovers became harder to bounce back from. Time grew precious. Aging and it's taboo attic-dwelling twin, Death started scratching at your door.

Example: I went to a baby shower this weekend and someone asked me what motivated me to leave my career in TV writing to pursue storytelling consulting.

My answer: "Straight up fear of death. A clear understanding that I had to make my life count."

Far from shifting uncomfortably in their chairs, the women at the table nodded. "Oh yeah, I go through that about every 2 years." We all chewed on that. Then we helped ourselves to more tea sandwiches.

When I talk to the ambitious career oriented type, their relationship with time agitates them:

Not having enough of it.

Not doing enough with it.

Not being adequately compensated for it.

But it isn't death or time that gnaws at them.

It's this:

"I'm afraid I have had all these opportunities. Been blessed with all these gifts. And I'm going to waste them all because I didn't get it together, because I was too scared, busy, not bothered to live my full potential. There I said it."

Here's what follows: "Is it selfish or like, tooting my own horn to say that out loud?"

In short, no. To be a heathy human is want to grow and prosper.

Are you familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? It's a psychological theory explaining motivation. The idea is that as we meet our basic needs, our pursuits evolve until they reach an apex -- self actualization. AKA - Fulfilling your potential.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

According to Maslow, it's necessary and natural to move up this chain. What trips us up these days (among other things) is that we're all woke enough to label this a rich person’s problem. And for this reason we shouldn't pursue a solution.

Wrong. When I probe these women on what it would mean to fulfill their potential, it's always about helping solve a problem, change others’ lives, improve a situation, change the world.

I don't know about you, but when I found my version of that and figured out how creative, connected & exciting fulfilling my potential could look like... well, maybe I'm still a bit afraid of dying, but it's certainly given me a reason worth living.

Do you suspect you're not fulfilling your potential?
It's time to change that.
Let's have an illuminating conversation about what could be holding you back.
It's 75 minutes. It's free and it will change your perspective.