Do you really believe in your work… really desperately want it to succeed… yet fear failure?
Ruth Rogers is on a mission: To support and celebrate realistic beauty. Since 2006, she’s been collecting real people’s stories about their real bodies, a selection of which are then performed by celebrities on stage in her Body Gossip shows. She’s had two sell-out London shows and one at the Edinburgh Festival, she’s taken the project to the Clothes Show, and the National Osteoporosis Society are investing to help the project become part of the school curriculum.
She’s enjoying great success – but in the early days, she was convinced she would eventually fail. “I knew I had a fantastic idea with huge potential… but I also felt utterly incapable of succeeding. This project totally relied on me and my confidence to pull it off.”
She attended my Fail Is Not A Four Letter Word workshop back in 2008. “This workshop made me realize that the biggest thing holding me back was my perception of failure as inevitable; back then, failure seemed like the safest option.” In practical terms, her new outlook helped her to cold-call celebrities’ agents with every hope of success, rather than the expectation of failure.
Do you hold back, avoiding the possibility of failing?
Here are FOUR ways to bypass fear of failure, taken from Ruth’s journey:
1. Take a risk, with back-up options in mind
“The first show we put on sold out two weeks before the show. I took a complete gamble and rebooked the venue for six weeks later, without telling the cast. I thought: ‘If I can’t get this cast, I’ll get another cast’. On the night itself, I announced to the whole audience that it was running again… and would the cast like to do it again? They agreed on the spot.”
2. Allow others to help
“In the beginning, the project was completely on my shoulders – if I stopped doing it, then it would stop. That’s not the case anymore: I’ve got a team of people. One’s working on a photography book, another is organizing a schools campaign. It means I can do the bits I do best.”
3. Take the responsibility off your shoulders
“I was terrified of success because I feared it would mean I would suddenly be held up as this body image role model. I don’t have that responsibility now because we have an amazing spokesperson, Natasha Devon, who represents us and so now Body Gossip can get as famous as it wants but I won’t! I no longer have the fear of ruining the project by being rubbish.”
4. Find an empowered perspective
“I used to think a “No” was evidence I was no good. Now, when I call to book a celebrity and they say “No”, I genuinely think they just can’t have understood. It’s only one hour, at their convenience, did I not make that clear? It’s such a no-brainer. That kind of failure is simply proof that I haven’t explained it properly. And if it’s a real and definite “No” then I think they’re just too busy now and I’ll get them one day! I see failure as time for another dialogue, it’s a cue to rise to the challenge.”
The possibility of failure exists down every path but Ruth knows her ‘passion project’, as she calls it, is too important to let that stop her.
How much more success would be possible for YOU… if you didn’t let fear of failure stop you?
The World Needs Your Passion, So…
1) Is yours a ‘passion project’? What actions are you NOT taking because you’re trying to bypass your fear of failure?
2) Apply these four ways to bypass fear of failure. What actions are you now able to move forward with?
3) Let us know how fear of failure blocks you, and how you’re able to bypass that. Leave a comment below and join the discussion.
Fail Is Not A Four Letter Word
* Final call * If you’re ready to be free from YOUR fear of failure, come along to Devon on Sat 7th August and pick up a new perspective on failure.
Click here for more details and to book > >
NB If you want to find out more about Body Gossip, visit http://bodygossip.org and connect on Facebook: http://bodygossip.org/facebook
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When I first started work after years as a graduate student I worked as a marketing coordinator (which I hated and didn’t do for long!). Every time I called a potential client or contact and they weren’t interested I felt personally rejected – although in about 99% of cases I am sure their lack of interest had nothing to do with me! I quickly fell into the trap of expecting rejection even before I contacted anyone – which of course turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy! Now I am much better at dealing with potential clients in a confident, relaxed manner – because I don’t take everything personally and think “So, maybe they don’t need me NOW…but in 6 months’ time things may be different. And they might know or run into someone who they can pass my contact details on to…” Basically, no time spent talking to potential clients is wasted!
Meggie – Brilliant philosophy. When we’re serious about following our passion, we’re in it for the long-term.