Try if you might to think of a time in life when you let your fears get the best of you. You were attempting to make major change in your professional career, or maybe personally you wanted to move to a completely foreign place. Perhaps you found someone you wanted to invest your time and energy into, or you wanted to take a substantial financial risk in hopes it paid off for you. Now for those of you who have always taken that leap of faith, or you found the courage to take it eventually, when you look back at it do you have a full understanding of why you let your fears make you a failure for those particular challenges that you neglected to act upon? I ask this question because when I talk to people and they tell me things they want to do or people they’re interested in, it’s amazing how quickly they will justify the reason or reasons why they didn’t go after it. Most times failing to realize that it comes down to fear. Being paralyzed by the idea of failing, made them a fail in their desire. We all know that you never get what you want if you don’t try. You also don’t find out if that thing or person is really a fit for you if you’re not putting your energy or effort into the matter.

It seems to be the most frequently talked about and known cliché thrown around and yet we still have so many folks who struggle to get out of their own way to go after that dream or goal or situation that might turn their lives from being ok, or decent, or solid and turn it into a life that is fulfilled and great. Greatness really isn’t something that you’re born with. You can be born into privilege or opportunity. You can be born into disadvantage or struggle, but it all amounts to just how much you’re willing to put yourself out there. I don’t know why this became the topic of discussion today in this post, but it just feels like I’ve come across so many people of late who have so many big dreams, goals or wants and just aren’t willing to get out of their own heads to take the risk of going for it. People who want to move out of the state they reside and move elsewhere, scared of leaving family or of being in a place they aren’t familiar. People who want to change professions that aren’t willing to push themselves and put their resume out for new opportunities. People who want to be on television, but not utilizing their resources to be discovered. People who want to sing, and instead of pursuing the goals blame others for their downfall.

I hope people really understand that it’s not about who didn’t do this or that for you. It’s not about what you don’t have that someone else does. It often comes down to who wants it the most. Who is willing to fail in order to get better. learn and go after that goal or dream again. If you want to be happy and inlove and married, you have to be willing to get your heart broken in order to get the love of your life. If you want to be a professional athlete, you have to be willing to get cut or be a backup in order to go after your dream of making it and being a main piece of the puzzle. Whatever it is you want to do, you have to be willing to make mistakes, be willing to fail, be willing to be critiqued so that you can be better and obtain what it is that you want. I will never understand why someone will let themselves settle all because you don’t want to take a chance. Or because you don’t want to be alone. If you’re giving the right energy, truth is you will never really be fully alone. Because people will continue to gravitate towards you, because you have energy that is magnetic.

Success and failure is as simple as risk versus reward. If you’re willing to risk it, you’re willing to reap all the reward of the energy and effort that you are putting into whatever it is that you’re doing. Be the next President of the United States, the next Governor of your state, the next Senator, the next astronaut or military General. Discover the cure to cancer and the cure to HIV/AIDS. All the things that are out there to achieve are only possible if you’re willing to fall and fail. If you are willing to be vulnerable in order to get people to invest in your journey. Take the chance, take the risk. Be bold, be confident and be resolved. If you do all of those things, you will get to what you want. Talent is part of it, mentality is the other part of it. Go strong and don’t let fear make you fail.