Our roof gets a lot of needles from surrounding trees and the valleys that the rain is supposed to flow down get full of gunk. The weather was nice on Saturday, so it was my duty to go up and clean them out.
I have no issues climbing up the ladder. When I was a volunteer firefighter 25 years ago, I climbed up a 100-foot ladder. I have no issues being up on the roof. It’s a great view. What I don’t love; in fact what I really hate, is climbing back down on to the ladder. There’s something about the whole balance and slippage thing that’s unnerving. I know Barb was there holding the ladder, but it wasn’t her I was worried about not doing her job. I managed to ease into the climb down and descended without incident, which led to my celebration with a cigar and whiskey.
I’ve got good balance and am in good condition. Fear made me more tentative and increased the chances of falling. If I was unabashedly confident, I would have more rapidly and efficaciously exited the roof. Likewise, fear of falling (i.e. failing) in business and in life make us all more tentative and unsuccessful if we allow it to.
You always hear athletes and entertainers proclaim that they are at their best when they are fearless; when they just let go and have fun. The same is true with important business meetings, sales calls, interviews, and networking events. The same is true in relationships with spouses, children, friends, and family. Fear is legitimate when the clear peril is falling eight feet.
Unfortunately, the fear that paralyzes humans is most often rooted in fear of what others might think or how we will be judged. And in most cases, our assumptions are wrong. We face adversity constantly. It will become a personal and professional crisis when we allow the fear to win. As my professional mentor Alan Weiss has said, “fear masks talent.” It also is the enemy of business success and living an unleashed life. So when that inner fear mongering voice tells you to be scared, throw it off the roof and boldly ascend your own ladder of success.
Quote of the Week:
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
~ Confucius
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