FEAR AND OUR EVERYDAY LIVES

WHO DARES WINS: The Green Beret Way to Conquer Fear and Succeed by Bob Mayer.

This book is a great Father's Day gift. It's also a book I think everyone can benefit from. It's a book that will give you the tools necessary to overcome whatever it is that is holding you back from achieving your goals in every aspect of your life. Usually it's fear that stops us from becoming whatever it is we want to be. Or Do.

There is that old saying - You have nothing to fear but fear itself. Not sure that is entirely true. I mean, there is some fear that is good. It's an indication that something might not be right. Like, lets say a rattle snake is coiling in front of you ready to strike. Yeah, think we'd all be a little frightened. Would we all know what to do? I wouldn't. We don't have rattle snakes up here.

I'm terrified of flying. I do it, but it scares the crap out of me. I'm one of those people who actually pull out the little guide while the flight attendant is going over all the safety measures and follow along. I note the exits and find the one closest to me. I actually, sort of, plan for that plane to crash. Think about what I would do and how I would get out in case I had to. Twisted, I know. Except, how many people would know what to do if the plane went down?

When I was little, my father has this thing about teaching us kids the hard way. I mean, the hard way. He used to take us out in the worst storms on Lake George. I'm talking dark nights, five foot whitecaps, rain, lightening, bring it all on. And then he'd turn the helm over and say, "Take me home James." Funny, his name was James. Anyway, his thought process was if we could handle that, we could handle any thing that came out way. Yeah, right. Would I go out in a storm for shits and giggles? Nope. No way. While I'm confident I could handle it, it's still scary and not really safe.

I remember learning how to change a tire and my father telling me how I might find myself stranded on the side of the road and have to do this. I thought, well I'll figure it out when it happens. Thank goodness I knew how to change a tire when I got a flat in the middle of nowhere at night. We didn't' have cell phones back then.

In my father's world, there was always something you needed to be prepared for and it was never good. I used to think he sat on the back patio coming up worse case scenarios just for fun. Thought it amused him or something. But looking back, those scenarios taught me a few things. One was that in order to get to the other side, I had to do something. Take action. If I was afraid of crossing the road, figure out why. Was it a reasonable fear? Like getting hit by a car if I had to cross a four lane highway. Then ask myself do I have to cross the road? Is there another way? My father told me that the best plans were usually the worst. Know and understand all options and then decided. Don't be stupid, be smart. Smart people survive. Yeah, he was a hard ass.

But my point is this, I have fears. Many of them. Some I can't explain, like my fear of frogs. Don't ask, cuz I'm not telling. I'm afraid of sharks. Even in fresh water. Yeah, I know, a bit unreasonable considering I love water and spend all day in it in the summer. Just not after the sun sets. I'm afraid to fly, but I do it. I'm often afraid people won't like me. But if I don't put myself out there, I won't ever know, will I? Fear is apart of life. Now maybe more than ever. So many uncertainties with the economy. Fear can cripple us. Stop us from taking action. Stop us from achieving our goals. My grandmother once told me that I could be anything, if I just put my mind to it, then acted on it. She said it took two things to make something happen, a thought, and an action. A thought is but a dream, an action is what makes a dream a reality.

Now, that is my life lessons. I try not to let fear rule me, but sometimes it does. WHO DARES WINS: The Green Beret Way to Conquer Fear and Succeed by Bob Mayer is a book that I know will help me continue on the path I want to be on. That is the successful path.

I have ordered a copy of this book for myself, and a few friends. I have also ordered this book to one lucky winner from this blog. But you have to comment. Sending me an email doesn't count. Sorry. Tell me your fears. How you over come them. How this book will help you. Or just say hello. Next week I will draw a winner, so have fun.

I'm going to make this very easy for you. Below are links so you can order this book for yourself, a friend, a father, whoever. Also, click here to read an interview I did with Mr. Mayer on my group blog. It's very interesting.

Bob Mayer's Website
Amazon