Bradley Day

What or who is our greatest enemy, or rather,  what the hell are we so scared of?

You know, every day I speak to different people, they all have hopes dreams and aspirations, sadly most of these people will never pursue these dreams, they will never follow their true purpose in life.

I will never forget 7 or 8 years ago I was sitting in an office environment. My counterparts were complaining and moaning, you know, as people sometimes do in an office environment. Running parallel to this though, they had hopes dreams and aspirations, they had purpose that they wanted to follow. Some of them even had the most unbelievable business opportunities just waiting for them to grab hold of. I recently visited this company and guess what? Most of these people are still sitting at the same desks with the same complaints and grips as they had so many years ago…. ABSOLUTLY NOTHING HAS CHANGED! Except they have forgotten about their hopes, dreams and aspirations, those business opportunities are long gone and never to be repeated! And even if they were to come along again, most of them still would never attempt to follow through.

Why is it that these people gave up on what really matters to them…? What is it that stops people in their tracks?  It is quite simple, they have succumbed to our Greatest Enemy, it is your enemy and my enemy! It stops us and it beats us down and won’t let us pursue our dreams or our life’s true purpose! This unrelenting enemy I speak of is the fear, fear of failure!

I have always wanted to pursue public speaking, I am now 41, why has it taking me so long to pursue public speaking. It’s because I was scared, I was scared to stand up on stage and get it wrong, I was scared the words would not come out, I was scared I would stand up and the audience would think I am an idiot. So I really hope you don’t think I am an idiot! Finally, I said to myself I have to take the plunge, I have to at least try,  even if I get it wrong at least I have tried, at least I will have learnt something, gained experience and developed a skill I can take with me.

I was educated recently by a 4-year-old. I often speak about my kids. Emily, my daughter recently started dance classes. Her dance teacher got the group of girls involved in the Cape Town Eisteddfod. Now can you imagine, been this tiny girl, you have never even seen a big stage before. Now you are standing on one, in a hall packed with people dancing for a big audience for the very first time. How scary is that, it would freak me out! Yet these young ladies were not scared at all. They got up on stage and danced their hearts out. It was absolutely adorable to watch. However, and here is the kicker; they did not win. Their timing was out and it was just not done correctly…..When my daughter got off stage I asked her if she enjoyed it, she said “yes Daddy”, I said, “do you want to do it again”, she said, “yes Daddy”. I asked her why, she said because she loved it and loved dancing, it was so much fun. You see these girls did not see the perceived failure in their dance. They just enjoyed it.  It was so clear they gained so much from the experience and I just see these girls going from strength to strength. They loved it so much. If they continue, without worrying about failure they will just grow and eventually become the champions. I have no doubt at all!

Let’s talk about – Kentucky Fried Chicken. Now I’m not talking about the nutritional value, but rather the business model. Who thinks KFC is a great business model, they are a worldwide organization! Col Saunders was the founder of KFC. I only recently discovered Col Saunders was actually a real man. Now Col Saunders was one of the biggest failures of modern history. His whole life he would try something and fail, it went on and on. Eventually, at the age of 66 he started selling and marketing his specially fried chicken, with 7 secret herbs and spices. As you know it became a worldwide sensation. He eventually sold the business for a tiny fortune. He still remains the face of KFC today. You see, the true secret of Col Saunders success was he never gave up! He did not succumb to the fear of failure!

Did you know in the biblical scriptures it tells us to not have fear? It is not a SUGGESTION! It is a command from the man above! Now why is this, it is because fear causes anxiety and worry and that stops us from pursuing our true purpose, it unsettles us. That been said, if you have faith, what is there to be fearful of anyway?

So today my message is clear. Don’t give in to the fear of failure. Follow your dreams and your life’s purpose. Nobody says it will be easy, but at least your heart will be happy! Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try!