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How to Deal With Fear
Friends Don’t Let Friends
Work With Bad Clients
April 23, 2012
Sedona, Arizona
Ever since I was a performing musician (starting way back when I was a young kid), I’ve lived with fear as a fairly constant companion.
I have a lot of talent as a musician, but it’s not like I was Mozart or anything. So performing in public (particularly from memory) was not something I really enjoyed.
Actually, it reminds me of my days as a cross country runner. I liked doing it best when it was over.
When I sat down to play my first recital in college, I was filled with fear.
If you’ve never been in the presence of musicians at that level, it can be intimidating. For this recital, I was in front of a whole room full of them.
And what are musicians trained to listen for?
They’re trained to listen for imperfections and mistakes.
What a fun time huh?
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At that point in my life, I hadn’t gotten a handle on the energy that is fear. Instead of controlling it, I allowed it to control me.
The results were that the BIG me ran and hid while the “little” me suffered through the experience.
Instead of worrying about making music and actually saying something, I spent the whole time wondering what everyone was thinking… and when I was going to make a mistake.
What I’m describing might be called a unique form of torture. It certainly felt like it.
Of course I was the one responsible for all of it.
Today, I understand fear a bit better. I understand that fear, when you strip all the stories away, is nothing more than energy.
You don’t need to resist it and you certainly don’t need to pretend it’s not there.
The easiest way to deal with it is to simply accept it. Even better, look it straight in the face.
Once you can accept your fear, then you can recenter on your goals and act.
In my opinion, it’s not worth the effort to make fear go away. But it is worth the effort to accept it as a traveller on your journey to great things.
See you next time,
Jason Leister
Editor, The Client Letter
Creating Success for Independent Professionals
ClientsSuck.net
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