Three Ways High Achievers Push Through Fear to Achieve Incredible Results -

In this episode of Flow Over Fear, join Adam as he explores three common themes related to pushing beyond fear that have arisen in his interviews with high performing individuals. These three things include the importance of community, faith, and absolute responsibility. Learn how finding the right group of people can help you push past your fears, doubts, and limiting beliefs and reach your goals. How faith can help you to navigate the things you can and can’t control, and how absolute responsibility can free you from victimhood.

Transcript

the truth is that people who have
achieved achieved the things that we
want to and have found the Fulfillment
that that they want in life
uh they’re just like everybody else
they’re just like us
they’ve experienced the fear they’ve
experienced it at a high level
they’ve just found the tools and the
resources to get through it
hello everyone and welcome to the flow
over fear podcast where it is our
mission to help you to rise above fear
and realize your ultimate potential in
leadership and life I’m your host Adam
Hill and it is my goal to share with you
the human side of high performance my
guests share their experience with fear
anxiety struggle Challenge and most
importantly despite all of it how they
Rose above it to achieve incredible
results so if you’re ready to rise up
let’s get started hello everyone and
welcome to this episode of flow over
fear and three things and over the
course of the last many weeks I’ve had
an opportunity to interview some pretty
incredible people people that have that
have overcome their own fears in their
own lives and anxieties and mental
health issues and challenges all that
run the Gambit but all to achieve
greater results in their own lives and I
wanted to share today three ways that
some of those people three of the common
themes that I found in these interviews
of how people have pushed Beyond fear to
achieve incredible results there have
been already within you know the 50 or
so episodes that we’ve done at this
point a lot of uh a lot of commonalities
between Within These High achievers and
it’s important for us to recognize that
because for many of us we want to
achieve great results
and we know we have it inside of us when
we’re aligned on our values and when we
when we have Clarity of purpose when we
do all of the right things that personal
development tells us to do that we have
that capability to achieve that but in
the moment
we can be overcome by fear and fear of
course is that biggest obstacle and
however it shows up
fear can show up as imposter syndrome it
can show up as uh as anxiety or Panic it
can show up as irrational fear
but
in any of those respects it’s an
obstacle to us achieving those results
and the whole point of this show is to
shift that frame of reference on its
head and say well what if fear is not
really an obstacle but what if we can
really look at it as a signal something
that can show us where we need to lean
into where where we can lean into it and
actually find greater growth and a lot
of the people that I’ve interviewed have
already done that
um and we can all do it too and I want
to show everybody how we can do that
but the problem is is that many of us
you know feel like when we see uh the
people that I interview or high
Achievers or people that have already
achieved something great when we look at
what they’ve achieved we often say to
ourselves well we can’t be that because
there are already so many steps ahead of
us that it’s you know it’s impossible to
get there or you know our limiting
beliefs come to our mind or self-doubt
comes into mind and it gets in the way
of us actually pursuing what we want to
achieve and it gets into that dangerous
trap have you ever felt that way
I know if you’re listening to this and
you’ve experienced fear or imposter
syndrome or anything like that you’ve
probably felt that sense of self-worth
or not being enough or not being able to
be where somebody is
uh and that of course leads to us
staying stuck with where we’re at
either stuck in unfulfilling
circumstances not able to move forward
or take the next step or thinking that
the next step is too big and we just
can’t make it to the top of the mountain
because we’re not ready
and so we convince ourselves that we
need to stay in the same place that we
are stuck and unfulfilled
and frustrated
but what I want to share is that and and
the reason why
this show exists is to show that people
who have achieved those things for the
most part anybody who’s in those
situations most of us most of the people
that I interview have gone through
you know significant challenges
and they’ve experienced the same level
of frustration or stuck or or
uncertainty or fear that you have
and because of that they’ve carved a
path and one of my recent guests uh Mike
Ayala actually said this that you know
if someone else has carved the path or
if someone else has already done what
you want to do well then it’s just a
matter of unraveling it dismantling it
and and recognizing what framework that
is to actually employ it yourself it
sounds simple right I mean it is a
simple concept but it’s not easy to get
past the obstacles that are in her head
our limiting beliefs and those kinds of
things the truth is that people who have
achieved achieved the things that we
want to and have found the Fulfillment
that that they want in life
uh they’re just like everybody else
they’re just like us
they’ve experienced the fear they’ve
experienced it at a high level
they’ve just found the tools and the
resources to get through it I want to
share a couple of those with you today I
just want to share three of those with
you today
because these three are the common
themes that have showed up repeatedly
throughout the interviews I didn’t force
them I didn’t I didn’t I didn’t lead
them but these are what have come up
naturally and organically through this
conversation and I think they’re vital
and they’re not by no means exhaustive
but uh but these are some really big
ones and the first one the first element
of that that that many high Achievers
use to help push them to their goals and
and push them beyond the fear is
community
this is such an important concept and I
didn’t even I’d never understood this
until I got sober in my 30s
I believe that I had to do everything on
my own
all the way back from when I was
experiencing anxiety and fear early on
in my life I thought that I was alone
because I thought I was crazy
I thought the fear inside me and I knew
the fear that was inside me was so
irrational
so unnecessary
that I knew that other people would
think I’m crazy and I felt very alone
because of that
and I know that other people who
experience mental health issues
experience that sense of aloneness as
well if aloneness is even a word I don’t
even know if it’s a word but I wouldn’t
have even been able to say aloneness in
my previous life without being afraid of
what people thought of me
um and frankly I still care about what
you think of me don’t get me wrong but
but not so much that I care if you care
if I say aloneness but anyway I digress
um
I was alone I felt alone but I wasn’t
alone
40 million people in the United States
alone have have anxiety disorders or
some form of anxiety
it’s prevalent in our society and only
recently has it been become okay to
start opening up about it and talking
about it and it’s becoming more so as
we’re you know as we’re over stimulated
in this world
uh you know 10 percent of the population
is in in the last place that I’ve read
experiences addiction
or alcoholism or something that that
like that
and there’s communities for these places
that was the first community that I got
into was a community of sobriety
and it was what really helped me get
sober because I found a group of people
that had what I wanted
and that’s the important Concept in any
Community not just the healing part of
it not just the part where we go through
the healing process where Community is
important but also the learning and the
mentorship process where that’s
important in my life I learned about the
communities in the healing side of it
through sobriety
and when I started getting into
Triathlon I learned about that through
Triathlon clubs and communities of
triathletes who had what I wanted who
who became what I wanted I wanted to
qualify for the Iron Man world
championship and I saw other people that
did it and I joined their Community
sounds simple right
well it is that simple it’s not easy but
it is simple and this is what
entrepreneurs or people like that do
they join communities
and in my entrepreneurial efforts or in
my business efforts I’ve joined
communities of organizations including
gobundance and brand builders group that
that have helped me to work through a
lot of the challenges I have in my
business or through the challenges I
have in my brand and ultimately learn
how to better serve the community
um in in a better way we can utilize the
communities not just to get the help we
need but also learn to serve
a rising tide lifts All Ships and we do
that in a community
and that is why most of the Achievers
that I’ve had on my podcast and most
Achievers in general have some community
of people that they surround themselves
with that lift them up
who is the community that you’re
surrounding yourself with is it a group
of people that are that are pulling you
down is it a group of people that are
that are draining your energy are you
feeling lifted up by them
are you feeling like you’re gaining
value from them are you feeling like
you’re giving value to them do you want
to continue to engage in them
if that’s not where you’re at find those
communities it’s it’s easier than ever
to find communities like that with
social media and and there are tons of
of ways to engage in that process
and and so finding a community that’s
really the first thing that helps us to
push beyond our fears and to rise above
our fears we’ll find that we have more
courage when we’re surrounded by people
who are working toward our goals
and the second element
is is faith
the second way that that high Achievers
really push through their fears is
through faith and I know this sounds
very cliche but it is one is it is
another one that comes up quite
frequently in uh in these interviews and
and I know that this can be a
controversial subject
because this Faith requires you know
that we
that we have a sense of well faith that
we believe in something that might not
be completely evidence-based now that we
believe that there’s a higher power
working toward a greater good and I know
that I’ve said in the past that this is
not meant to be a a religious show or a
spiritual show but ultimately what
happens when we’re talking about fear
and what what happens when we’re talking
about pushing into the greatest version
of ourselves we have to transcend
who we are now
and in order to transcend that
takes more than just
a belief in ourselves
that is certainly a step is is no is
believing in ourselves
but it’s also understanding and having
the faith
that there’s a greater good
that’s looking out for our well-being
whether that is the universe or or or
God
that it’s there
you know for me and I’ve I’ve
interviewed a lot of people who who talk
about who talk about God being what they
have that fate where they found that
faith that they found faith in a God and
and that that trends that helped them to
transform into the greatest version of
themselves whether it be their service
whether it be their attitude whether it
be the way they show up in the world
um
and for me that’s true as well
when I
when I went through my first
transformation
I’ve always believed in in a god it’s
just my nature it’s it’s not it’s not
something that I I push on anybody I’m
very very open-minded on that in that
way but it’s something that I I believe
and I’ve always privately believed but
when I uh uh uh and I even believed in
that God during my worst of times when I
was when I was drinking heavily when I
had full of when I was full of anxiety
and a lot of times during that time I I
was asking and I was asking why God why
me why why am I why am I struggling
through this why does this happen to me
when you know
um you know why why am I going through
all this pain and why is there all this
pain in the world and that becomes a
bigger conversation of course but uh but
it was ultimately
when I reached my worst
where I finally let go of control
and I gave myself to a higher power
realizing that I could not do it alone
that higher power led me to community
and in that Community I believe that
higher power exists existed but it was
really faith that helped me through that
and I for a lot of people regardless of
their background um you know that I I’ve
talked with people who’ve had
backgrounds where they’ve spent time in
jail where they were scientists and and
all sorts of backgrounds
they’ve come to Faith in some way or
another
in order to elevate to their very best
self and their best version of service
so faith is a very very important part
uh it is just a common theme that I’ve
heard in a lot of these interviews and
it’s something to consider and if it
makes you feel uncomfortable
um I understand and this is not meant to
be some kind of I’m going to convince
you to find God or whatever it happens
there but what I am going to do is I’m
going to challenge you with that
discomfort and say maybe maybe we should
look at discomfort as something we
should desire maybe we should desire
discomfort after all if we’re going to
rise above fear we have to lean into it
and really dig deep into why we’re
feeling uncomfortable about it
and then the third thing the third thing
is really important too and and is also
might make us feel a little bit
uncomfortable but it’s also a recurring
theme that I’m hearing throughout these
interviews which is
these people that are achieving great
things despite the fear and overcoming
great challenges are taking absolute
responsibility within their lives
and I’ve heard this on multiple
occasions that you know there’s there’s
a couple of directions we can go as
human beings when we experience Trump
traumatic events or
um or difficulties or or things like
that and I just kind of mentioned it
within that faith faith piece is that
is that
you know we either lean into this victim
mentality where we constantly stay a
victim of our circumstance
where something bad happens to us
and we think that that’s life happening
to us
and then we we internalize that as being
a victim and somehow being less than and
not being able to be enough and that of
course translates into frustration and
burnout and and and and staying stuck
because we choose to be in that victim
place
and I know that might trigger a lot of
people when I say choose to be in that
victim place because legitimately
there’s a lot of victim
Hood out there
but we don’t have to live there we don’t
have to live there
we don’t have to live in victim
mentality and when we can take absolute
responsibility over our lives not over
circumstances I mean I’m not asking
people to take responsibility over
trauma that has existed in their lives
but one common theme that I see with
people who have healed who have
recovered who have who have become you
know have been able to transcend and
transform their former selves
has been
taking responsibility of their own lives
taking responsibility of who they are
now who they have been and who they will
be
and when we take that responsibility
back
we gain freedom
and that freedom
comes
with
a tremendous responsibility
and so we have to own it we own that
responsibility
um
and that’s not always an easy path but
that the path of growth is never easy
the path of growth is never easy it is
something that is challenging because
when because we have to have resistance
in order to grow
and so if bad things happen in the
moment they feel bad they feel traumatic
they feel terrible but if we’re able to
heal through them
if we’re able to take ownership of it
that’s what I mean by it I don’t mean
saying that it’s your fault it’s
definitely not your fault for for any of
the circumstances that hit in your life
you are enough you are enough
but taking responsibility means just
taking ownership of it ownership of who
you are who you have been who you will
be
not in shame not in judgment
but with empowerment
so that you can grow and become the best
way to serve others
imagine if you could take ownership of
something that has caused you pain
and be able to turn that into Triumph
and help others to do the same
that’s what we do with fear
when I think about fear and I think
about my anxiety and I think about the
the time that you know the times that
I’ve hurt people within my addiction
and the times where I felt that I was
slighted by other people
I take responsibility for it I take
ownership of it
I take ownership of of the person I was
at a young age with social anxiety that
was me that’s I own that
and I and I heal from it and now I try
to help people to rise above it and find
that superpower in there
I think we can all we can all do that
and when we can when we can Embrace
these three elements of community faith
and absolute responsibility
the reward is that we can achieve
greater fulfillment we can get out of
that stuck mode
we can transcend this life that we’re in
now and and find a more glorious and a
more fulfilling path a more joyful path
a more joyful life
that includes continuous growth
and that is not an easy path
but if you want joy and fulfillment in
this life you should not be seeking the
easy path we should be seeking the path
of of continuous growth which includes
discomfort
that’s not easy but it’s it’s by all
means it’s more fulfilling
and if you want proof of that
well most of the uh interviews that I’ve
had thus far with Achievers as we’ve
talked through these fear elements and
how they achieve greater flow and how
they achieve more in their lives they
talk about these the the
um the communities they’ve been a part
of that have helped lift them up they
talk about their faith uh you know not
just in themselves but in that higher
power that talk about responsibility and
taking that responsibility and and
building on it those all help them to
grow
and for me that’s been a huge element
that’s changed my life ever since being
somebody who’s lived in that victim
mentality of of uh you know in my
addiction in my anxiety disorder to
somebody who’s been able to turn that
into something where I can push that and
I can find courage that I can become a
courageous person that’s able to lean
into fear and find that greater
achievement
if you’d like to learn more about all of
these things don’t you know uh obviously
subscribe to this podcast and listen to
the interviews because we want I want to
dig in and I want to continue to share
this message but also reach out to me if
you if you’d like to learn more about
how uh you know how we can rise above
fear and Achieve greater flow if you
want to achieve that in your business
and and in your life
um I you know working through a group
coaching platform that that adds these
elements and that helps us to build that
type of community
and if you’re interested please reach
out to me but in the meantime thank you
for joining me on this episode of three
of flow over fear three things look
forward to catching you next time thanks
for tuning in hey everyone Thanks for
tuning in to the flow over fear podcast
if you’d like to learn more about
getting into flow and learn the
foundations of flow I have a free video
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www.adam cliffordill.com called the
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