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Overcome Your Fear of Risk-Taking

“There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-term risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy

The 2 most dangerous, paralyzing words for performers and creatives (and in almost every aspect of life) are:

“Be careful.”

To live ‘safely’ is to run your life without spontaneity and creativity. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the ONLY path to success in life is giving yourself permission to ‘take chances and risks’.

“Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until they are 75.” – Ben Franklin

When asked what they would do differently if they had their life to do over again, most of fifty adults 95 years and older replied that they would risk more.

How many times have you wanted to take a risk or meet a challenge in your business, in a performance situation or in your personal life, but were too afraid to? The following quote is a guiding principle in the coaching work I do with my clients.

“Change and growth takes place when a person has risked themselves and dared to experiment with their own life.” – Herbert Otto

  • In what area of your business or career are you currently afraid to take some risks?
  • In what performance situation are you afraid to venture out and try something new and unique?
  • In what areas of your personal life are you afraid to take a chance?

Sam Walton once said,

“Swim upstream. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody is doing it one way, there’s a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction. But, be prepared for a lot off folks to wave you down and tell you you’re headed in the wrong direction.”

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Free Fearless Speaker Master Class

Discover what your career, business & life would look like if you were not afraid of public speaking.


The ability to present and speak without fear is CRUCIAL to your success in business.

If you get stressed giving a virtual or on-site presentation, experience fear when promoting your services or new product on a Zoom call or Facebook Live, then signing up for this Free Webinar is just what you need!

To learn more or to sign up, Click Here.

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Why Stress Relief Is So Important (& 5 Ways to Do It)

I recently came across a wonderful article from the site powerofpositivity.com that I wanted to share with you. There are many valuable principles and skills for you within it. (I have also included links to more tips you can use) I hope that you find it valuable!

Stress is an inevitable part of life. Your day may be great, and the sun is shining bright, but the next minute you could have a significant crisis turn your world upside down. You cannot control the circumstances around you. Thankfully, you do have the power to control your response to them.

You’ve probably heard a million times that stress kills. There have been many studies done that prove that stress is harmful to your overall well-being.

Being in a constant state of distress can affect your well-being. You must have stress-relieving tools that you use to keep your angst under control.

When you become stressed, the cortisol levels in your body elevate. The negative stimuli activate the “fight or flight” response internally, which can cause uncomfortable effects. When you are under significant stress and anxiety, you may experience the following:

•Racing Heartbeat
•Sweating
•Shaking or Chills
•Nervousness
•Feeling of Impending Doom or Death
•Panic Attacks
•Feeling Faint
•Irrational Fears
•Dizziness

Stress that is not managed correctly can lead to a stroke, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and a plethora of other conditions. It can negatively impact your life to where you cannot drive, work a job, or even leave your home. Finding coping skills to help with stress relief is imperative.

Quick Tips for Stress Relief

In most cases, you cannot stop your entire day just because you feel anxiety or stress. However, incorporating calming techniques that can bring your levels of angst under control is advisable. Here are some of the most used methods that work well.

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Is it Time to Change Your Story?

Knowing what you want goes hand in hand with knowing who you are. In fact, it is impossible to become an outrageous achiever in any area unless you possess an effective and powerful answer to both questions.

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In the past I have discussed the importance of discovering what you really desire in your life and then committing to a specific plan of action to get you there.

What could possibly stand in your way?

Well, look in the mirror and you will see your biggest enemy staring right back at you, telling you their story about why life is so tough, or how they have always failed, or how they are just not enough to become more successful.

The story you hear implies that maybe you don’t have what it takes to achieve your dreams.

On and on the story goes. A story many years in the making!

I can hear it now,

“Ladies and gentleman, here is the Story of a person who desired to become successful, who yearned and dreamed of accomplishing amazing things! Yet, a sad Story of never having enough money, or ideas or opportunities, of someone raised by critical parents and who lacked the confidence to overcome obstacles.”

Does this sound at all like your Story?

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Virtual Reality, the Amygdala and Anxiety (Part 2)

I did it.

I walked off the plank and floated down, down, down until a sea of bright white light enveloped me.

As I shared in my last Post (Part 1), I had let my anxiety and fear of “falling” into the abyss keep me from completing my son’s Virtual Reality game. Mentally ‘knowing’ that it was just a game and that I wasn’t actually walking off a real plank to my death wasn’t enough for me to override and manage my anxiety.

I had quit as a result of the physical feeling of terror and of thinking “What if…?”

I know that many of you reading this have found yourself in a similar situation (maybe not walking off a plank 20 stories high!) but, rather, a situation in which you believed that to continue would be dangerous, almost as if you were stepping off into the unknown.

Your ‘plank’ might have been a presentation that you must give, or an audition or interview that matters to you or simply a step forward in your life that feels scary and which you talk yourself out of.

This week, however, I re-visited my fear and played the game again.

I put on the VR headset, felt myself moving higher and higher on the virtual elevator until the doors opened wide and I was staring at the wooden plank high above the ground.

And yes, the birds were still flying around me as before!

Only this time, instead of letting fear make my choice, I implemented the following 3 steps in order to face my fear and move myself forward:

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Virtual Reality, the Amygdala and Anxiety (Part 1)

Have you ever found yourself afraid to try something new, to step out in front of a crowd, or to risk going into the unknown? I am sure that you remember the anxiety that developed and the steps you took to avoid feeling scared?

Well, I recently was scared, and it didn’t make any rational sense whatsoever.

A few nights ago, my son and his wife stayed over in our home. It is always such a pleasure to have them visit. This time, in addition to coming over, he brought his new “toy”, an Oculus Virtual Reality Headset.

This VR Headset is advertised with these words, “Stop watching games and step into them. Whether you’re dodging obstacles or slashing through enemy hordes, you’ve never been this close to the action.”

Boy, were they right.

As someone who prides himself on being in control and providing Anxiety Coaching to others so that they can learn not to allow fear to make their choices, I decided that I would go for it. “Give me a scary one” I said – and my son obliged.

On went the headset.

Immediately, I was transported to a world where I could look all around me at amazing sights and sounds. This is fun I thought, all the while remembering I was in our living room and really not in a cartoon-like city of trees and birds chirping away.

It was fun until…

He told me to press a button on my hand grip. I did, because I remembered that no matter what I saw, I KNEW it was not real and, thus, could not shake or hurt me.

I switched the scene and found myself inside of a very real looking elevator. No problem, I’ve got this I thought.

And then, the elevator doors opened.