Atychiphobia

Atychiphobia = fear of failure

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. 

What we think we become”  - Buddha

In previous posts I wrote about winners, the science of winning and more.  I included references to Tiger Woods and some global tech giants; i.e. a person and some corporations that became global winners at their game, then losers, and perhaps ultimately, are (or will be) winners again.

As a young sales guy at the start of my own professional career, I had assigned myself two very simple, but clear, daily goals:

1. No lunch until I had made at least one sale (every morning), and
2. Never decline my own product/service (on behalf of the sales prospect/client).  If they told me they wouldn’t buy it, or from me, etc., I would view this as practice in overcoming sales objections.

Nowadays, more than two decades later, I still apply the same philosophies mentioned above, in everyday business.  I just do it with a little more lighthearted humor, also while recognizing the need not to be overly intense in my general, day-to-day, self-management.

If you’ve experienced some of these symptoms below, you may be suffering from atychiphobia:

• Perfectionism, in this context referring to a willingness to try only those things that you know you'll finish perfectly, and successfully
• Reluctance to try any new things, or to get involved in challenging projects
• Self-sabotage, e.g. procrastination, excessive anxiety, or a failure to follow through with your assigned (including self-assigned) goals
• Low self-esteem; self-confidence: Commonly using negative statements such as "I'll never be good enough to…" or "I'm not smart enough to…"
• Add more of your own symptoms here...

Bill Cosby famously once said: “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”  But, what if you feel you simply cannot overcome your fear of failure?

Maybe we could benefit from being reminded of some examples of business greats, who had all seemingly failed, big-time:

1. Steve Jobs was famously fired from Apple in 1985.  Yet he returned in 1997, and was instrumental in helping the company develop products such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad.  Not bad for an employee once publicly humiliated by being dismissed from the company he had founded, huh?
2. Warren Buffet, one of the world's richest and most successful businessmen, was rejected by Harvard University.  Perhaps this example can be viewed as a stroke of good fortune? After all, very few good things ever emanate from Harvard  [And yes, I’m going into witness protection right now].
3. Richard Branson, owner of the Virgin business empire, is a high school dropout.
4. Tech icons like Bill Gates (Harvard drop-out), Michael Dell (University of Texas drop-out), Mark Zuckerberg (Harvard drop-out), and many more, all successfully dropped out of college... and I probably don't need to remind you of their successes in business???

The people above may not necessarily have suffered from atychiphobia (I wouldn't know), but they had all failed dismally at some stage during their careers... based on how our generation has been taught to measure success.  Makes you think, doesn’t it?  

If you have not personally experienced failure commensurate with the size, scale and scope mentioned in the examples above, what exactly would cause you to have a fear of failing?  Failure may be your best learning opportunity ever!

I’ll leave you with this quote from Thomas Edison: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

Common... give success a shot... you have nothing to lose, and you'll do just fine!