C Shaffstall

My son was born without a healthy respect for injury. At about six months, he had climbed on top of the television, had his head through the blinds’ cord, and was suspending himself off the edge of the TV. I lost ten years off my life that day. Six years later, headed down a black diamond he took a spill tossing skis and apparel in every direction. He ended up looking something like a yard sale on the side of a snow-covered mountain. On that day, he gained the fear factor.

In a conversation with a friend of mine a few days ago, we were discussing the professional fear factor. This fear factor is about how we, as adults, naturally approach or decline opportunities.

I started a company a few years ago and one of the partner candidates said to me, “I’ve been waiting my whole career for an opportunity like this.” In another conversation, a friend expressed concern about putting up his own money to start a new venture. Much more recently, a colleague was embroiled in discourse at her job and chose to hold her tongue rather than risk being reprimanded or fired.

These are all examples of professional fear factors: the developer unwilling to launch a project on his own, the entrepreneur timid about spending his money, and the colleague afraid to speak up. The underlying concern, of course, is financial security. They all want it, but the fear factor immobilizes them.

I have a small group of very, very successful entrepreneurial friends. What these friends all have in common is the lack of fear factor. Like my six-year-old son, they have spent their life barreling down mountains at breakneck speeds in pursuit of the ultimate prize — without any real respect for the danger. It may well be that they will someday end up with their belonging strewn across the landscape, but even then, and knowing them the way I do, they will simply pick it all up and catch the lift to the top of the next hill.

I think there’s something to learn from this highly successful group, but it’s not a lesson for just anyone. There are entrepreneurs who are idea people, but they lack ambition. There are those with loads of ambition (like my developer friend), but who lack the ideas. A true success story is found in the person who possesses the ability to recognize opportunities, the ambition to implement, and the fortitude to see it to fruition. This combination eliminates the fear factor.