I went to a conference on the weekend full of inspirational speakers. So many golden nuggets. I heard a man named Mastin Kipp speak. He lived on friends' couches for a few years while he tried to get his writing out there. His book cover says, "He went from a hard-partying, 21-year-old vice president at a Hollywood record company to an unemployed, drug-addicted college dropout living in the tiny pool house of his ex-girlfriend's parents." The pool house was 8 feet by 8 feet in size. He had drawn a line in the sand and decided he would not take another soul-sucking job. He had to try and follow his passion which was to help reconnect people with what makes them happy. And he never gave up.
Now he is a best-selling author and was on Oprah's "Super Soul Sunday" where she called him an "up-and-coming thought leader of the next generation of spiritual thinkers."
He talked about two kinds of fear. Irrational fear and necessary fear. And how most of our fears are irrational. He said if a lion is running towards you, you should feel fear and get yourself to safety. That is necessary fear. But he explained that irrational fears stem from survival patterns that we have ingrained in our daily lives. Patterns like putting yourself last, trying to control everything, perfectionism, playing small, assuming the worst, doubting higher wisdom, addiction, procrastination, toxic relationships or always needing approval. Mastin said these patterns create irrational fears that stop us in our tracks. They don't allow us to get to where we want to go.
And where do we want to go? If you don't know, Mastin says you should consider what you daydream about and who you are jealous of. Those are clues that will help point you in the right direction. He says if you are scared, you are on the right track. Fear is leading you to your purpose. So walk through the fear.
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Don't let your fear of what might go wrong stop you from making things right. Most of the times you are scared, there are no lions running towards you. So follow your heart.