I am reading John Smoltz’s autobiography. If you are not familiar with Smoltz, he played professional baseball for over 20 years. The book focuses on the last year he played.
Smoltz is a very competitive individual. He did not like to lose, He loved playing for Atlanta and he would do what was necessary to help his team win (as long as it was legal, moral and ethical.)
What is compelling about his story is that he was not afraid to fail.
When he failed in a game (gave up 8 runs in 2/3rd of an inning) he would go back to the bullpen and make the necessary adjustment. He would take the changes he tested in the bullpen and implement them in the game. Many players would make the adjustments in the bullpen and never implement them in a game situation. His point is that these changes must be implemented or why do them.
The book is about his ability to fail forward to achieve success.
I see the same thing with my sales coaching. Many people learn the material but they never apply it. They are afraid to fail.
I remember when I wrote my first book. I waited for six months after it was ready before I released it. I was afraid of what others would think. I finally released it. That started a creative streak that lasted five years. I wrote four books in five years: Two of them went international. That would not have happened if I let my fear of failure control my behavior.
As a result of that work, I team up with TruNorth and Dr. Tony Alessandra to create a sales training web site that will be available in late January 2013. That would not have happened if I did not get over my fear of failure. Here is the press release!
Fear of failure is simply a belief. It is a belief that you can release if you choose to. It simply means you acknowledge the fear and do it anyway. As Dan Kennedy once said, “50% of the people will love you, 50% of the people will hate you. Ignore people who hate you and focus on the people who love you.”
