Fear of success is like an undercover, secret agent. It uses clever disguises to accomplish its mission of sabotaging your success. To the unaware, untrained eye, your goals do not stand much of a chance. You wonder why you are not having the results you want.

When you unknowingly hold back, you are cheating the world. You are not giving full expression to your talents, the ones imprinted in your DNA. The world is missing out and so are you.

One of my coaching clients demonstrated how cunning the fear of success could be. Despite her abilities and opportunities, she was not accomplishing her goals. In a blazing flash of insight, she recognized that achieving her goals represented loss for her.

She discovered that if she achieved her ambitious goals, her relationships with her family, friends, and co-workers would change significantly. The people surrounding her were not succeeding at the level she envisioned for herself. Was she willing to continue operating by someone else’s definition of success?

If you suspect you are settling, not excelling, consider these guidelines to expose the clever disguises of the fear of success:

• Accept that you own talents [a.k.a. brilliance] that are unique to you

• Discover your talents [hint:  they may be undercover and underdeveloped]

• Get the training and experience to develop your skills so you can use your talents

• Find ways to engage your unique talents professionally and personally

• Release the notion that you can do everything well [hint:  create a team of complementary talents.]

• Surround yourself with others who encourage and support you

• Celebrate your successes

• Identify any thinking pattern that pulls you back into limitations and shift your thinking

• Help others claim their brilliance [a.k.a. talents] and express it in the world

Now the rest of the story.  My client realized she was not doing herself or the world any favors by limiting her success.  With a new thinking pattern, she adopted simple practices to support her success and to eliminate the chaos she had created unwittingly.  Please note that success habits are the supporting players, not the main attraction.

Success habits that support success thinking:

1. Prepare for an appointment with a client or prospect 24 hours in advance

2. Use checklists to assure that you have with you everything you need

3. Leave a cushion of travel time to allow for the unexpected

4. Arrive 5 – 10 minutes before your appointment but no earlier

5. Eliminate clutter in the office and car

6. Keep written notes of conversations, meetings and calls

7. Debrief your notes to the appropriate file

What undercover agents are at work to undermine your success?  Call on your courage to outwit your success saboteurs by exposing them for what they are—fear based thoughts.  Give yourself and others permission to succeed.

© 2012 Ann Elliott All Rights Reserved