3 KEYS TO OVERCOMING YOUR FEARS AND ACCOMPLISHING YOUR GOALS

Last week I attended Leadercast Live in the Atlanta, GA area. This event was broadcast to over 20 countries and 100,000 people around the world. Over the next week I will share notes on the excellent talks that were delivered. Below are my notes from Dr. Mae Jemison’s talk.

Dr. Jemison is an American engineer, physician and NASA astronaut who became the first woman of color in the world to go into space when she flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992. Serving six years as a NASA astronaut, Dr. Jemison is an icon of both the women’s rights and civil rights movement, inducted into both the National Women’s Hall of Fame (1993) and the International Space Hall of Fame (2004).

Mae Jemison was originally from Decatur, AL and grew up afraid of heights. This challenge did not prevent her from becoming the first woman of color to travel to space.

As a young child, she taught herself to overcome her fears to reach her goals and objectives. She had a desire to take dance lessons but this required her to ride the elevated metro train in Chicago where they were living at the time. This was a significant challenge for her to overcome but she taught herself to choose courage to take the needed steps over letting fear keep her at home.

“Truth is a letter from courage” Zora Neal Houstan

What’s more important, being afraid? or being an astronaut?

“The fundamental leadership that was important was how I led myself. The most difficult challenges are those that are personal.” For Mae, it was dealing with her fear of heights along her journey to space. As we know she chose to face those fears down and eventually fly to space. This did not come without more challenges along the way.

Don’t doubt yourself, just do it.

Later in her life she faced challenges with this fear of heights when she had to jump off a 15-foot platform. She was not about to let that challenge be a road block that would keep her feet here on earth. Her quest for becoming an astronaut was bigger than her fears.

What fears are you letting prevent you from accomplishing your goals?

Wei Jià This is a Chinese character that means both Danger/Opportunity. When we face crisis we can focus on the danger or we can focus on the opportunity before us. Mae chose to focus on the opportunity, not the danger.

3 Keys to Overcoming your Fears and Accomplishing your Goals

#1 Be Prepared

Working through challenges when people start to doubt you.
Don’t doubt, Dare!
You have to jump off the platform!

#2 Know Your Job:

What are your most important responsibilities?
What are you supposed to do?

#3 Accept Responsibility

Value, corral and protect your energy! Your physical, intellectual and emotional energy need to be guarded and supported.
We all have fear! In order to effectively overcome the power of fear over your life you have to learn how to corral, value and protect your energy.
Each one of us has to take ownership and responsibility for our own physical, intellectual, and emotional energy.

Saying NO!

It’s hard to tell people NO! But you have to value and protect your energy and saying no is a part of this process.
It is difficult to do creative work when you are really fatigued.

Some Parting Shots

What do you do with your place at the table? Use it
You can’t doubt yourself, you just have to dare to do it.
I want this to be an inclusive audacious journey.
We can’t tell people what to do, but perhaps we can give them an experience which shows them what to do.
We are connected across time and space-we are all earthlings.
Something missing as we pursue leadership excellence to individual and organizational goals…lack of shared understanding our connections across time and space.
For a truly extraordinary future and better world today, visions must endure across generations.
By looking up we see ourselves.

We have to be able to lead!

We also have to be able to follow!

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