Proverbs 6:10-11 says: "Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man."

Our quote for today is from George Edward Woodberry. He said: "Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."

Today, in the Get Things Done podcast we are continuing with Part 6 of our series titled, “Overcoming Fear of Failure”.

In our last episode, we talked about using imaging -- mentally envisioning ourselves doing that which we need to do -- as a way to overcome the fear of failure and get things done. Today, we are going to talk about another way to overcome the fear of failure.

Instead of imagining yourself succeeding at the task, imagine everything going wrong, in the worst possible way. By exaggerating your fears you make them look ridiculous, and your sense of humor usually restores your perspective. Either that or you will realize that even the worst possible scenario isn't so terrible after all.

Bertrand Russell was an advocate of this ploy. He urged considering "seriously and deliberately" the worst that could happen in any frightening situation. Then, he said, "having looked this possible misfortune in the face, give yourself sound reasons for thinking that after all it would be no such very terrible disaster. Such reasons always exist, since at the worst nothing that happens to oneself has any cosmic importance. When you have looked for some time steadily at the worst possibility and have said to yourself with real conviction, 'Well, after all, that would not matter very much,' you will find that your worry diminishes to a quite extraordinary extent."

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Proverbs 16:3 says: "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."

Our quote for today is from John Maxwell. She said: "Procrastination is too high a price to pay for fear of failure. To conquer fear, you have to feel the fear and take action anyway. Forget motivation. Just do it. Act your way into feeling, don’t wait for positive emotions to carry you forward."

Today, in the Get Things Done podcast we are continuing with Part 5 of our series titled, “Overcoming Fear of Failure”.

In our last episode, we talked about two ways we can combat the fear of failure: (1) Examine our fear and pinpoint the exact reason why we are afraid; (2) Determine what we would do if we were not afraid and then force ourselves to follow through with that action. Today, we will talk about another technique to overcome the fear of failure.

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Whether your failure to act is a result of fear, boredom, depression, shyness, fatigue, unwillingness to tolerate discomfort, or just plain laziness, you'll find it useful to act as if you possessed the opposite attribute. Before you act, however, you may find it useful to try imaging.

The term was coined by Norman Vincent Peale, but the procedure, which has received renewed attention in recent years, is centuries-old. It involves picturing yourself in vivid, specific terms, actually doing the thing you want to do, rehearsing it in your mind. Don't just think about doing it, but see yourself doing it. Get a clear mental image of yourself performing each step. The psychological effect of this imaginary run-through can be dramatic.

Many athletes have used this technique since publication of “The Inner Game of Tennis” and other books on improving athletic performance by mental practice. But leading sports figures have used the technique for a long time. The great Ben Hogan, for example, always went through a golf shot mentally, including the follow-through, before making it, and then would depend on what he called his "muscle memory" to execute the shot correctly. Research with basketball players has shown that players who practice in their imagination can greatly increase their accuracy in free throws.

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Proverbs 6:6-8 says: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."

Our quote for today is from Tony Robbins. He said: "I've come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy."

In our last episode, we talked about how we can overcome the ‘vague dread’ of failure by acknowledging our fear and then acting as if it didn’t exist. Today, we will expand on this topic.

Of course it's not easy to act as though your fear did not exist. But this technique works. People who require an easy solution to every problem might as well resign themselves to a life of disappointment.

The point is that while this technique of "acting as if" is not always easy, nevertheless anyone can use it. And when you do, it not only enables you to get the task done, but it builds your ego. You develop a self­-image of boldness, instead of thinking of yourself as a victim of an invincible enemy called fear.

Of course, the technique can be used to develop other traits as well as self-confidence. William James and Friedrich Nietzsche both commented at length on the useful role this process can play in life, actually changing the realities of our existence. Thus, William James noted that whether we believe God exists or not, "We can act as if there were a God; feel as if we were free; consider Nature as if she were full of special designs; lay plans as if we were to be immortal; and we find then that these words do make a genuine difference in our moral life."

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Ephesians 6:7-8 says: "With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord..."

Our quote for today is from Dale Carnegie. He said: "Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."

Today, in the Get Things Done podcast we are continuing with Part 3 of our series titled, “Overcoming Fear of Failure”.

In our last episode, we talked about how successes tend to occur in fixed proportions to attempts. The more often you try -- and the more failures you chalk up -- the more successes you have. Thus, if we want more success, we must simply make more attempts at doing things. We must ‘make a pile of chips.’ Today, we are going to consider how we can overcome the ‘vague dread’ of failure.

Sometimes, dealing with fear of failure isn't as simple as just forcing yourself to "make chips." Sometimes a vague dread of what might happen causes you to keep putting off the desired action. How do you deal with that?

That term vague dread holds the clue. As long as your fears are vague and undefined they are impossible to deal with, so the first step is to make them specific, concrete, identifiable. Pin down exactly what it is you're afraid of.

This is another application of Pigeonholding. The point is that it's difficult to deal with something that's hazy and general, whether you're talking about fear, procrastination, or any other problem. If you go for a medical checkup and announce that you don't feel well, you aren't given a prescription. Instead, the doctor begins to probe for more specifics. Until a precise label can be attached to your ailment it's pointless even to think about remedies.

Although, in this case, we've already identified the ailment and labeled it: the label is fear. Fear of failure. But you must push beyond that; it's still too general. Exactly why do you fear failure in this particular case? As you dig deeper you may realize, for example, that what you really dread is the embarrassment that would result from that failure. You would have to admit to your associates that you bombed, and that's what's really bothering you.

Now you have put your problem into a pigeonhole labeled Embarrassment Before Associates. You still haven't solved your problem, but you have at least isolated it. Now, instead of trying to deal with a generality -- fear of failure -- you are dealing with a specific -- your embarrassment when your associates would become aware of that failure. Now you can ask yourself some pertinent questions...