anxiety

Is Fear Avoidable?

November 1, 2018 By kwmccarthy

My research with over 850 small business owners reveals that 32% of the respondents say fear is their greatest obstacle to success.

So what is it with fear?

Can we avoid fear? How do we overcome fear? Is fear really, as the old acronym goes, False Evidence Appearing Real?

In this On-Purpose Business Minute, let’s address the question Is Fear Avoidable? After watching the video, read The 7 Most Common Fears Business Owners Face and what to do to conquer them.

The 7 Most Common Fears Business Owners Face

Fear of rejection
Fear of success
Fear of failure
Fear of exposure for who I really am
Fear of looking stupid or incompetent
Fear of what they will think of me
Fear of making money and exploitation

Overcome your fears using the “For PETE’s Sake” Approach described in The On-Purpose Business Minute:

Perception
Emotion
Training
Experience

Many fears are unnatural but very real to us.

Generally, for every fear you have, someone probably makes a living from it. So what is it they have that you don’t? Oh, For PETE’s Sake, they don’t have a thing on you. They simply have an abundance of improved Perception, Emotion, Training, and Experience. Your fear is their joy! How remarkable is that?

Dig into this topic more by reading FIT 4 Leading. This is the least known of my books and part of the On-Purpose Leadership Series. At only $10 plus shipping this small but powerful book provides you with strategies to be a better leader of your life for the rest of your life. Use the link to the book to find a free, introductory webcast at our shopping cart or visit the website.

Why Am I Fearful?

October 3, 2017 By kwmccarthy

Does fear interfere with your life, business, or career?

What’s your fear? What are you fearful of? Where in your life do you say, “I am afraid of … ,” yet you know it is a hang-up—not a danger to your life or limb?

Would you like to be at a place where you can say, “I am not afraid” … and mean it? Read on!

Fear, like pain, is partially designed to be our friend, not our foe.

Fear keeps us from being in harm’s way.
Fear protects us from injury, peril, and even death.
Fear provides for self-preservation.

This is our good or helpful fear.

Bad or harmful fear debilitates our inherent motivation and destroys our confidence. The ripple effects beyond oneself can damage relationships, opportunities, jobs, finances, and more.

Fear can be an occupying foe taking up unjust strongholds in our spirit, mind, and body.
Fear can lead to anxiety that spawns a panic attack that triggers the fight or flight reaction.

This fear is unhealthy in every aspect.

Fear is not to be necessarily avoided; it is, however, to be understood.

Fear is a God-given guidepost to growth and healing. Facing fear, however, is not a solitary endeavor. Be wise and seek the help of a professional counselor or therapist skilled in working you through your fear in a progressive manner.

Why bother?

If you’re locked in unhealthy fears, your aspirations and dreams are muted.

When fear prevails it is hard to be on-purpose.

How’s Your Trust Account?

July 18, 2017 By kwmccarthy

In polite company, we’re told not to discuss religion, sex, or money. So today, I’m not discussing sex!

God is a very loaded term these days so please let me add an inclusive caveat to the Minute and my use of God.

God is being used in the broadest possible terms without affiliation to a particular denomination, faith, or point of view. I’m using God as inclusive of your worldview even if you’re an agnostic.

You may call God Nature, The Life Force, The Trinity, Jesus, Abba, Spirit, Jehovah, The Big Bang, or some other point of origin for the planet and our lives on it. In other words, unless you are a hard core atheist, don’t be offended.

Trust, not God, is the focus of the OP Minute. If you are searching for purpose, then you can’t avoid the spiritual nature of your quest and the need to trust that something bigger than you exists. Sure it raises important questions that profoundly affect our lives and color our worldview.

Do This: Grab a piece of paper and invest 60 seconds to jot down your answers to these questions:

Can you trust?
Where is your trust placed?
Where has your trust been violated? What did you learn?
Who do you trust … why?
How do you find trust in the midst of the swirl of current world events?
Without trust, can you ever find rest or peace?

God (broadly referenced remember) is bigger than we are. God is present today and around tomorrow. Long after we die, God exists. God is humbling and continuous. There’s something undeniably bigger than us, and God is a widely accepted term for that something.

When I go to the ocean, I often think of the sound of the waves crashing on the beach as the heartbeat of God. We can close our ears, minds, and hearts to the presence of God, but we can’t stop the waves from beating the shores. And we can’t stop those waves from pulsing on our hearts.

Trust, then, is a coming to terms with the world and your place in it.

Money, while nice to have, is a store of value but a counterfeit store of trust. If you’ll accept my premise about money, then where do you place your trust? Repeat this cycle of asking yourself where is the basis of your trust.

Honest repetition of the cycle eventually peels back the layers of empty stores to reveal God. Yet God is more concept than concrete. It defies logic to trust a mere concept. Yet, the mystery of God’s presence for as long as you can remember becomes undeniable. Something is there that our minds alone can’t grasp. And now we’re being asked to trust it more than we do when driving through an intersection with a green light. Weird, huh? Wonderful, yes!

That source of it all is why “In God We Trust” is such an important reminder of what matters most even as we wisely earn, save, and invest money.

Be On-Purpose!
Kevin