“Fear causes hesitation and hesitation causes your worst fear to come true.”
Welcome to the “Inner Circle Podcast”, the place where patriot entrepreneurs create, build, and play. Each episode will help you move forward to the place where we all want to be, a place of total creative freedom, personal freedom, and financial freedom.
My name is Mike Fallat and I am your host. I’ve started a bunch of businesses, helped to write a couple of hundred books, and interviewed lots of millionaires. I will be your guide as we enter the Inner Circle.
Mike: This episode will help you understand how fear is not your friend, or is it? [00:57.4]
I went to this restaurant on Saturday, a really nice restaurant, celebrating Jenna's birthday and, it's amazing, whenever you pull up to the restaurant—it's one of those nice places where everybody celebrates their birthdays—you notice everybody walking in doesn't wear a mask, and that makes me feel very good. These people have overcome their fear and they're not even worried about being rejected at the door. That's great.
I walk inside and nobody's wearing a mask, except for every single worker. It's an obvious contrast of people who are not wearing masks, and then the people who are wearing masks, so it almost looks like there are two different people, two different classes. It made me think about, how are these people going about their day-to-day life being told to do something and then see a different class of people do something completely different? [02:00.7]
It has to make them ponder the whole philosophy or the whole instruction, the mandate, but maybe, and this got me thinking while I was having these lovely crab cakes at that dinner, what if the people wearing the masks are deathly afraid of the virus? What if they are? What if the people are so afraid of it that it limits them from even exposing their face to people? What does that do to them psychologically and to their future success?
That's what made me think about this whole podcast episode. Fear is now exposed on the grandest stage for people to see how you live, and it's doing something to you, whether you know it or not. It's going to hold you back from wanting to express yourself, from wanting to step out and go against the grain. Fear is going to control people on a mass scale, always has, always will, but now it's so obvious who is afraid and who isn't. [03:18.3]
I started off this podcast with that quote, “Fear causes hesitation and hesitation causes your worst fears to come true.” That's from a movie called Point Break.
One of my favorite movies of all time, and if you're not familiar with it, it's about an undercover police officer who joins this tribe of free thinkers. Those free thinkers are bank robbers also. During his undercover sting, he finds out that these bank robbers, these free thinkers live a life that he's not accustomed to. It's not just the fact that they're criminals. These people are free. They're alive. They do things that are just insane to the average person. [04:03.0]
Bodhi, the main leader of that bank-robbing crew, explains that they're not there just to get the money. They're there to show that the human spirit is still alive and he has a great line, a great quote. They show the world something. They show that to those people inching along the highways in their metal coffins every single day that the human spirit is still alive. These people will jump out of airplanes and surf the craziest waves and just put themselves in harm’s way for the love of life, maybe to represent some things.
Johnny Utah, who is the undercover cop, realizes that he was living a boring, tamed, controlled life, couldn't do things without his boss’ permission, and at the end of the movie, he gives up his badge and he's done with the whole being an undercover police officer and he became a surfer and an extremist, if you will. [05:05.2]
It's almost as if once you see that other side of that world, how other people can live when they're totally free, it wakes you up and you never want to go back. Fear is what does all this for people, fear of “Oh, if I don't get on an airplane and jump out of it, I can't die. If I get on an airplane, and in the air, the parachute doesn't open, what happens?” That fear makes every decision in their life for them. Some of it good, some of it bad, right? I mean, without fear, we wouldn't be alive at this stage.
You go back to the very beginning, I mean, we were being chased by saber-toothed tigers and dinosaurs. If we were not afraid to go outside, we'd be dead. Fear was a very important piece to human evolution and it still is to this day. But fear now is being manipulated. Fear is being used against people. You can use it against people. [06:06.3]
If you think about all the psychological things that are happening in the virus world, the political world, they use fear to move people around and I looked up some stats here for this podcast and I want to show you what fear does to you, to your health, to your life. I made a post and I want to read off a couple things from my Facebook post.
I used to be afraid. In 2008, I was just starting businesses, but I was still afraid to put myself out there, what I really believed, who I really was, and I held back, but I was afraid of speaking on stage. I was afraid of going out truly on my own. I was afraid of asking certain people out. I was afraid of writing a lot of books. That fear held me back until I was pushed to that metaphorical edge of the airplane and jumped, and within seven years—it really did take seven years until 2015, 2016, somewhere in there—that's when I stopped being afraid and that's when the ultimate ride began. [07:15.7]
See, I came to this point break, this moment in my life, where I started to realize who I needed to become if I wanted to ever be happy, and that's whenever that fear subsided and it went away. I wasn't afraid of what friends and family would think anymore. I wasn't afraid to write those hundreds of books. I wasn't afraid to speak on stage. I wasn't afraid to put my reputation on the line anymore. I wasn't afraid to take a stand for what I truly believed and that is what gave me an advantage.
Do you see the people out there who are afraid of doing everything that I just told you? That's them holding themselves back. Their fear will cause hesitation, hesitation to ask that person out, to write that book, to get on video, to go and speak on stage, to go and ask for that sale. It just causes every bit of delay in their life and that hesitation will cause all of their worst fears to come true. [08:15.4]
You want the ultimate? You have to be willing to pay the ultimate price. That ultimate price can be many different things, but it has to be looked upon as a great test. I used to think that, man, I look at all the people in there. They're so afraid to write a book even. They're so afraid, but that is what makes it great.
The reason people are looked upon as accomplishing great things when they write a book or starting a business or becoming successful is because so many other people look at that as a scary approach to life, a scary path, and the fact that so many other people look at it in a way that’s “Oh, that's really scary,” it gives the people who are unafraid an advantage. It gives the people who are willing to push through that boundary to go through that point break, if you will, the ability to win much easier, to be free. [09:20.7]
When I see people wearing the masks, when I see people staying at their corporate job, when I see people who are just in that stuck mentality in their life, and they look upon the other people like, How the hell are they not afraid? I feel bad for those people who are totally controlled, because I was that person. I used to be there. Then, once you break through, you escape the cage. Then you look back at everybody who is afraid and you say, God, if you only know what I know now, you'll never want to go back. Just like John to Utah and point break. He sees that life and he never wants to ever go back to that life, and that was like me leaving my corporate job. [10:03.8]
I used to be a person who was reliant on one income, one source of income. I was afraid of what my boss thought of me. I was afraid of losing that job. I can't believe I even thought like that. I can't believe that was me at one point. I was controlled, but that escape, that's what gives me an advantage now, making friends with that fear. I always say, is fear a friend or a foe? It all depends on how you use it.
What is fear doing to you? Look around in your life. Is it stopping you from putting your real feelings out on social media? Is it stopping you from writing that book or creating that tribe, or putting yourself out there for the world to really judge you? [10:54.6]
If you are letting fear stop you from moving forward, you've lost. You will always be that soul that's in that metal coffin, inching down the highway in traffic to a place you don't want to be, to a home you don't want to go home to. Everything is tied to your management of fear. Everybody is afraid of something. It's just how you use it.
Let me just tell you what's happening to your body as you adopt this fear, as you let it become part of you, day in and day out. Kids are going to school with masks. If they don't have their masks on, they get afraid. If they don't get that vaccine, they're afraid. If they don't do X, Y, and Z, they're afraid.
What is this fear doing to them? The physical health is deteriorating. Fear weakens our immune system and can cause cardiovascular damage, gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome, and decreased fertility. It can lead to accelerated aging and even premature death. [12:01.8]
Now let's think about what's happening to your memory. Everything goes back to what you remember, right? Everything goes back to it. When it comes to business, who's a good person? Who's an ally? Who's an enemy? How to handle certain situations. Your memory is going to be a crucial way of deciding if this person is going to be successful or if you're going to be successful.
Memory. Fear can impair formation of long-term memories and can cause damage to certain parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus. I don't even know what that is. That's insane, though. But fear can damage your brain. This can make it even more difficult to regulate fear and can leave a person anxious most of the time. To someone in chronic fear, the world looks scary and their memories confirm that.
If you start a business and you fail, your brain is going to say, “Don't do that ever again,” and so that is going to lead to probably an existence of “I can't leave this cage anymore. I can't go out here because I know that if I leave here that dinosaur might get me.” That fear is going to stay with you. It's almost like a PTSD. You can't live your life in a free manner anymore because of what happened to you, so it’s going to damage parts of your brain, but it's also going to regulate what you do and what you don't do going forward. [13:18.8]
Brain processing and reactivity adjust according to your fear. Fear can interrupt processes in our brains that allow us to regulate emotions, read non-verbal cues and other information presented to us, reflect before acting, and act ethically. This impacts our thinking and decision-making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions. All of these effects can leave us unable to act appropriately.
If you are afraid, then you are going to be more nervous around individuals, opportunities, which allows you to give an excuse for not getting something, “It just wasn't meant to be,” or whatever, but your brain processing is fluctuating. Nothing is comfortable. You're not comfortable in your own skin, which makes other people not comfortable with you, which means now you are hurting yourself every breath that you take, because you cannot be calm and collected. It's amazing what fear will do to you. [14:20.8]
If you like what you hear and you are a patriot entrepreneur, go to Mike’sInnerCircle.com. Remember, you are only as strong as your circle. We'll see you there.
Now let's think about the mental health aspect. Mental health. Just imagine where this is going. If kids are forced to do all this stuff now because of this pandemic, right, what are they going to be doing five years from now? How are they going to be affected? [14:54.2]
I’m assuming that their fear level has skyrocketed, which has led to depression, which has led to more opioid usage, and more coddling, if you will, of the soul. “Hey, I can do this, so you’d better treat me like the victim.” The victim mentality is now skyrocketing, which means these people who have the victim mentality are now going to hurt themselves.
Nobody of value wants to trust their life with someone with the victim mentality and that's what's happening the more they're afraid. If they're more afraid about taking action, they stay in their cage. They don't risk anything. They don't go after that ultimate ride. It causes hesitation. Hesitation causes more fears to come into their life. Nobody wants to be around someone who is fearful and scared about doing anything.
But mental health. Other consequences of long-term fear include fatigue, clinical depression, and PSTD—or, I guess, PTSD. I don't know, maybe this is a typo in here, but PTSD. That's what's happening. [15:58.0]
Those are the four things that are part of your human body that your body now is being adjusted in a negative manner based on how you look at fear. I tell people all the time, fear could be your best friend or it could be your worst enemy. I look at fear as, and this is probably something you could analyze in your life, what are you most afraid of happening? What do you think about from time to time and it’s like, wow, if this happened, I would hate this?
The way I looked at fear was, if I died right now, would I be a success or a failure? On one of my earlier podcasts, I talk about my dream obituary. This is how I became friends with my fear, because I was afraid of this obituary not coming true. I was afraid of being afraid my whole life. I was afraid of relying on one income. I was afraid of just being a corporate employee. I was afraid of not being able to ask certain women out on a date. I was afraid of being a terrible speaker. I was afraid of not being a serial entrepreneur. [17:16.3]
I was afraid of all this stuff and this forced me to say, If I’m afraid of that happening, I have to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't come true. I evaluated two different things, the fear of rejection or the fear of the dream not coming true, and the fear of the dream not coming true was so much greater than the fear of rejection.
I evaluated those two things, and if you look at it in that aspect, my God, you could start to now have pros and cons of what to do that day or that week or that month, as compared to if I don't do anything, yeah, maybe I don't feel the sting of rejection. Maybe I don't feel the sting of my friends and family leaving me. [18:00.0]
But you're no closer to that goal, to that dream, and if that accomplishment of that dream is the big thing on your list, then the other stuff should seem really small. If you're more afraid of the dream not coming true, then this sting of rejection, the sting of not finishing, this sting of not moving forward, then you can win this game. You can absolutely win this game.
There are people out there who are afraid and there are people out there who are not afraid. I want you to envision a wall of fire in front of you and there's a little hole through the center, and two people look at that same wall of fire. One person says, “I believe in God. I trust myself. On the other's side of that wall is everything I’ve ever wanted. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be everything that I need,” and that person is not afraid of going through that fire pit, that wall of fire. [19:04.8]
The other person is definitely afraid of it. “If I touch that fire, I’m going to die. I'm afraid that, if I get through that wall of fire, there's going to be another wall of fire, so I’m going to stay right here for as long as I can.”
Two people looking at the exact same situation. One person says, “I’m not afraid. I’m going for it.” Now, if that person goes for it, gets through and gets everything that they've ever wanted, that is the ideal life on the other side of that wall of fire, that person says to themselves beforehand, “I’m going to be okay and I’m not afraid.” The other person is deathly afraid.
Who has the better chance? Regardless of how dangerous it is, who has the better chance of making it through? Who has the better chance of making it one step closer? Who has a better chance of actually getting what they really want? Of course, it’s the person who is unafraid. [19:58.3]
One of the new pieces of apparel for Inner Circle has an American flag outlined within the word, “unafraid.” Being afraid will destroy your chances, but being aware of what does scare you and using that as fuel can be the greatest thing ever. It can be your friend.
When you see people that are afraid to quit their job or if you see people out there who are walking around with masks, if you see people who are putting six shields on their face to go talk to someone, who do you think has an advantage? Walk down an aisle at a grocery store and you'll see people run away because they're afraid of being around people. Where do you think you get everything in life from? Where do you get it from? You get it from people. You get it from opportunities. If you run away from people and opportunities, the only person that's getting hurt is you. [21:05.5]
Who has an advantage? The one that can walk through that grocery store without a mask, without the vaccine, without any fear, or the person who is completely afraid of everything? I’m telling you right now, there is no trophy for who is most afraid. There is definitely a trophy for the people who manage fear and do great things. There is definitely a trophy for that.
As you go through this entrepreneurial journey, fear is always a part of the process. It’s part of our DNA. It's just how you manage it. When I first started, I used to think 100 bucks was a lot of money, and then when you start 100 bucks, you think 1,000 bucks is a lot of money. Then you start to think 5,000 bucks is a lot of money and then 1,000 bucks is not a lot of money. Then you start to think 10,000 bucks is a lot of money as compared to 5,000, which isn't a lot of money. You start to hit these levels of, oh, what can I risk? What can I put in without being afraid of losing? [22:12.4]
Then you start to see how the really high players play this game. The high-level players are managing hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars, and sometimes you sit there and you're like, What am I worried about 20,000 for? I can make more, or 50,000, I can always make more. No matter what, you're going to hit these levels of “Oh geez, that's a lot” or “Oh my god, that's a lot of energy. Oh my god, that’s above my pay grade. That's above who I am.”
Maybe you're on a panel. I’ve been on panels with multi, multi multimillionaires, and there will be that fear that sinks in a little bit and says, “Who are you to be next to this person?” and you fight that fear. You manage it. You wrestle it to the ground. You kick its ass.
Some people don't fight back. Some people just let the fear overtake them and that fear will sink into every decision that you make, how you speak to people, where you go, how you dress, what you post online, that video that you create. Fear will start to shine through you, whether you want it to or not. [23:15.7]
Those who are unafraid can win this thing. Those who are aware of what they're afraid of and what really scares them, and using that as fuel to get to that next level of their life and realizing that they have what it takes to overcome the fear, those are the people who can win. If you want the ultimate, you have to be willing to pay the ultimate price. I promise you, if you start to see the other world, the other way that people are living, those who are unafraid, then you'll never want to go back. It'll be the greatest exposing of two worlds that you never even thought was there. That's what we're seeing, two different worlds. [24:03.5]
There are people out there on the news, in the media, in society, that are getting mad at those who are unafraid. We're not telling them to be afraid. They're trying to tell us to be afraid and that just won't fly. We manage fear. We use it to get to the next level. They use it as a crutch. They use it to explain why they are failing. You can't be those type of people.
Fear is your friend or it's your enemy. The Inner Circle, to all the patriots out there, we can't let the bad guys win. Do not let other people's fears into your life. Do not let other people's worries and extreme anxious feelings sink into your DNA. That's a recipe for disaster. [25:03.5]
The Inner Circle, in the words of Bodhi, we show the others that the human spirit is still alive. To those dead souls inching along the highways in their metal coffins, wearing their masks, afraid to do anything against the political movements that are happening right now, we show them that the human spirit is still alive.
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