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    Author’s Note: Due to security concerns, the names and locations in this story have been altered. In the Summer of 2016, I was on a short-term deployment to the central sub-Sahara as a part of a stress assessment team. During my stay, I made new friend James. James and I had visited several times during my TDY, and today he was going to take me to a small Lebanese restaurant. I always enjoyed time with a kindred spirit. James is a career diplomat who is filled like an overflowing cup with joy and excitement […]

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     Success will never attack you! In my previous article, I asked a question about your definition of success. In this article, I want to share some thoughts about success from a biblical perspective. A key part of God’s design is to create and bring an increase. These are vital factors to understand as you build your business/ministry. From a faith perspective, success is not measured in fame, money, prestige, or how many toys you have. It is measured by how many lives you touch. These can be lives you touched personally, through the […]

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Is it ok to be successful? Now and then I love to ask people this question. As a person of faith, I am always amazed how many Christians have a tough time answering that question without qualifying their answer. Many of my more secularly minded friends were less likely to try and qualify their answers. I will talk about that in another article. Second question; How do you define success? One of the leading fears I discovered while working on The No Fear Entrepreneur, was the fear of success. I had heard about this, and […]

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Did you know there are at least six markers of someone who struggles with the Fear of Rejection? Here is a little self-assessment for those of us who struggle with the Fear of Rejection. A word of caution! Read with the idea of gaining perspective that will help you grow. Please try to avoid beating yourself up if some of these feel a little close to home. Phoniness: Many people who are afraid of rejection develop a carefully choreographed life. Fearing rejection, people will often live behind a mask. This type of angst can make […]

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  Did you know one of the most powerful ways we can push back the fear of failure is to read about and observe how others have overcome this game-stopping fear, glean the lessons they learned, and apply them to our life as appropriate? Did you know? • Michael Jordan missed more than half of the shots he took. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my […]

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Failure can stir up feelings of disappointment, anger, sadness, regret, frustration, disappointment, and confusion. Underneath this fear is a deeper fear of shame. People who have a fear of failure are motivated to avoid failing, not because they cannot manage the underlying emotions of disappointment, anger, and frustration that accompany such experiences, but because failing makes them feel a profound sense of shame. Indicators for Fear of Failure 1. You worry about your ability to go after your dreams. 2. You worry about what others think of you. 3. You feel if people knew you […]

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Self-observation can be a great use of your time if it leads to positive things and not into self-flagellation. I’ve spent a significant portion of my working life guiding people through self-observation. In that time, I have discovered far too many people on the edge of a breakthrough in their personal life, their relationships, or their business but who squander the opportunity by over-focusing on self-doubt and fear. The thing that surprises me to this day is that many times they are completely unaware of how their self-talk defeats them. Here is how it usually […]

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  “Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them,” Brendan Francis. Here are some steps I adapted from The Art of Manliness: 29 Days to a Better Man: Conquer Fear. Change Your Perspective On Fear Fear is only negative if you think it is. Fear is a natural process that if left unchecked will cause us to live timid, restricted lives. Truthfully, in life, there is zero growth without risk. Instead of pushing back fear as an all-consuming, nerve-racking experience, see it as an adventure, a […]

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  Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.  Les Brown.   Fear serves one—and only one—purpose: to keep you alive. In its most basic, primal form, it is nothing more than a survival response. Fear can be a good thing. It is a profound biological instinct that can prevent us from doing crazy things that could kill us. For example, if you are working in your backyard and see a snake slithering into hedges next to your house—well, let’s put it this way—I doubt you are feeling peaceful […]

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(c) 2015 John Thurman  Shepherd, Old Nazareth The fear of criticism robs a person of their initiative, destroys imagination, limits initiative, destroys dreams, steals self-reliance, and does, Lord only knows how much more damage. -Napoleon Hill Have you ever given a speech, lead a breakout, or shared your art and had it evaluated? If you are like me, you are very gracious when the results of the evaluations are given to you. And I bet you are like me, you want to show how cool you are and not even take a peek at them […]

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