Comments on: Are You Afraid of Success?

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:23:04 +0000

Thanks! I really appreciate it :)

By: Dina2009

Dina2009 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:14:49 +0000

Jeffrey,

Honestly, I have never thought about the success this way and the reason is probably that I haven't tasted it yet. This is a great thought -provoking article. I' m going to share it with my friends for sure.

By: coachdebra

coachdebra — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:41:18 +0000

Actually - it can get a lot easier when you learn to create systems for your activities. It's MUCH easier to hand off an established system than to hand off a task. A system has steps, it has instructions, it has lists. And ideally it's built so a 5 year old can do it.

You might check out my "Create Systems - Work Smarter not Harder" class available on my membership - http://artists-edge.com/join

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:26:25 +0000

Delegating is definitely a learned skill – and it's a pretty difficult one to master (at least for me). Handing a task off to someone else sounds easy … but when that task is something important to you, delegating it gets a lot harder!

By: coachdebra

coachdebra — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:43:10 +0000

Great article. I would add as a sign of fear holding you back – an unwillingness to think of yourself as a small business owner. As long as you are holding yourself as a freelancer or self-employed you will be holding yourself back from the level of success that is available to you.

Self-employed is another way of saying employed with no benefits and a crazy person for a boss. I am not employing myself – I am owning and operating a business.

By: coachdebra

coachdebra — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:41:05 +0000

Tina – yes there are things that you need to always have your finger on and where being a perfectionist is an asset. The trap is categorizing EVERYTHING as something that has to be perfect and that you have to keep control over.

Delegating is a learned skill. And critical to creating real success as a business owner.

And BTW – if you want to be a small business owner AND have a life outside of your business – you must learn to delegate.

By: Ann Evanston

Ann Evanston — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:55:56 +0000

Jeffrey, this is fabulous and I am honored that we connected and I inspired this second post! I think often the biggest sign that success is holding someone back is they are not voracious learners - small business owners must be committed to life long learning!

Ann Evanston
http://Warrior-Preneur.com
The Warrior is within You

By: Success is a Process | Beyond Freelancing

Success is a Process | Beyond Freelancing — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:54:29 +0000

[...] Overcoming the Fear of Success series. If fear of success sounds absurd to you, please check out part 1 of the series, where I try to explain what fear of success means to [...]

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:37:23 +0000

I'm not sure I will ever be able to delegate. I agree with your reasons as to why a successful entrepreneur needs to have such a skill, but like you, I'm a perfectionist who can't quite ever trust anyone else to do things right. Which is why if I ever go the entrepreneur route, it'll have to be in a field where I can stay solo-employed. No company, just me. My bossiness will just have to find another way to express itself.

I think #3 is the biggest obstacle holding me back. I'm not afraid of hard work, but I like having that divide between work and everything else. As much as I hate the corporate environment, I like knowing that when I come home, I don't -have to- think about work. Being self-employed seems to blur that line, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that.