You may recognize this strategic motivational quote which came from John Lennon. According to the former Beatle, fear holds us back from achieving our goals while love makes us cherish life and all its possibilities. He encouraged everyone to face his or her fears and be completely open to love. He explained the benefits of this both in our personal and work lives. Everyone learns to succeed by succeeding. Each goal, small or large, that you achieve motivates you to set bigger targets for yourself and then achieve them. This is essential for personal growth. He also stated the importance of this in a global context: “Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
There are many studies that support this theory while others completely oppose it. While everyone agrees that love is a very strong motivator, fear is believed to be the most powerful motivating force and not an inhibitor, according to some experts. It is a primal instinct. We can see this clearly in our personal lives when we feel compelled to update our home security systems the minute we hear about a series of burglaries in our area. We also see this in our personal lives when we visit the doctor for a regular check-up but receive the surprising news that our cholesterol is too high and instantly decide to make big lifestyle changes. Fear calls you to action and the fear factor is definitely what has kept the insurance industry so profitable. We never know what will happen and this fear motivates us to prepare for every possible event. When we think of it in a business capacity, the fear of failure motivates directors to develop new marketing campaigns or analyze customer feedback to see how best to improve their product or service.
I was thinking about this inspirational quote this week and recognized the importance of it in my own work helping clients to decide what best to do with their business as they approach retirement. They all fear that the person who takes over the company may not have the same love for it as they have. They want the chosen person to be emotionally involved in the business and look after it as if it was their baby. They must decide if it is best to make the selection internally or to sell the business altogether to an outsider. Both love and fear motivate them to seek professional advice on how to find the most suitable person to take over their business. I can relate to these strong feelings and help them make the important decision. My advice is to face up to whatever issue is worrying you and consult an experienced professional in order to overcome your fear.
