5 Ways Fear Can Be Used To Transform Your Life

Depending on context, words translated as “cares” and “concerns,” “nervous” or “fear” and “anxiety” can be either right or wrong attitudes in a Christian’s life. Fear is right when it is reverence toward God because of his holiness (Isa 8:13), and care is good when showing concern for others (1Co 12:25; 2Co 11:28). But worry is always wrong, for it paralyzes active faith in your life.

"Being brave isn't about not being afraid. It's about feeling the fear and doing it anyway." I bet you've heard that, or something like it, before, right?.

The problem with those "sayings" is that sometimes they become just that - things we say but don't do. Why don't we do them?

Maybe we don't actually know how. Maybe we don't have an example to look at. Or maybe it's just easy to feel good about quoting an idea but much too uncomfortable to actually put it into practice.
Today's Newsflash is all about making the idea of "feeling the fear and doing it anyway" a cornerstone of how you do things.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"  Matthew 6:25 NIV

And it's about what can happen when you dare to do that.

You'll read the story of a kid who was born without an ounce of common sense but who somehow ended up a multi-millionaire... That is why the scripture I quoted above said that ''you should not worry about anything'', instead take apropriate action to tackle it.

You'll learn 5 specific ways to use fear to transform your life...

And you'll find out who the Kryptonite Carriers are in your life and how to banish them so you can get on with what you're meant to do here on earth - make a difference!

Have you ever known anyone who needed a "wake up call"-someone who just keeps coming up with ridiculous idea after ridiculous idea - someone who seems to have a new "opportunity" in mind every day - someone who needs to be more realistic -
Someone who clearly hasn't achieved any level of success in their life because they live in a fantasy land...

You know the person I am talking about. Their life is a bit of a mess - and they don't seem to have anything together - but for some god forsaken reason they always seem to be in a good mood - even though they have their head stuck up there most of the time.

If only they'd come back to earth for a while and come to their senses and realize that it is much safer to take a route in their life that is more predictable - one that will keep them safe. If only they'd do something - like get a job they can count on and stop being so pie-in-the-sky all the time.
I've had a friend just like this - I've known him since high school.

I remember he would always get picked on - and girls NEVER liked this guy. He was just too much of a weirdo.

He would always get it trouble in class for spacing out - or forgetting his homework.
I mean, he's a great guy, but he never seemed to be able to "get it right" if you know what I mean. He'd always be arguing with the teacher about some really smart philosophical point that most of the class didn't understand - and he'd argue to the point where he would end up in the principals office because he just "didn't know when to stop"

I remember being over at his house and his mom would always say that to him. "You just don't know when to stop!"...

Then I'd have to go home early because he'd get grounded or something. I'll tell you - this guy was always a pain-in-the-butt to hang out with.

But, don't get me wrong, he had his strong points.

For one, he always did EXACTLY what he wanted to do. He seemed to have a sort of carelessness, or rather, recklessness that most of us didn't have because we'd get too embarrassed to say what we really thought about something.

I mean, the number of black-eyes he got growing up was crazy because he just didn't know when to back down when he would get into arguments with older kids.

And I'll tell you what - it didn't end there.

After high school I went off to college, and he tried to, but ended up dropping out.
Now, this guy was smart as a whip, but he just wouldn't apply himself where it was important. He ended up getting mostly bad grades, but occasionally he'd get an A+ - in Art class or one of those creative classes that really don't take any effort to get a good grade in anyway - that's why I avoided that kind of stuff.

I always went for the practical classes - like Chemistry, Math & English -
And I'll tell you what - his IQ is super-high, but I could never figure out why he just seemed to fail at everything he tried.

While I was in college he was bouncing from job to job - and then he got it in his head that he'd actually stop working for other people and start a business for himself - How crazy is that! This is a guy that can't even hold down a job bagging groceries, and he thinks that he can start a business!

What a joke.

Anyway, his first business failed. It nearly bankrupted him.
Then he tried to start another one.
It failed too!

One day his dad even called me up to express his concern. He wanted to know if I could somehow convince his son to do something with his life. He wanted me to convince him to stop wasting his life and do something meaningful...

If only his dad knew that I had tried a thousand times - but even I, his best friend, couldn't get through to him.

Anyway, so my friend tried to start a lawn-mowing business next. And we had a drought that summer - so that went down the tubes too.

He was hopping from job to job in the meantime to pay his rent -- and I remember when he was 27 we went out for drinks one night to celebrate his birthday.
When everyone raised a glass to give him a big birthday cheers he said something that stuck in my mind for some reason.

He said "I'm going to make 1 million dollars this year!"- and he said it with gusto, and conviction.
But he said everything with gusto and conviction. It was another empty statement that would surly fall flat just like all the others.

I kind of lost faith in him to be honest. We just kind of drifted apart after that and I didn't see much of him. I don't know if he stopped returning my calls, or if I stopped returning his, but whatever is the case, we lost our connection.

But then, about a year later I got an email from him asking if I wanted to come to his birthday party.
He invited me out to dinner, and said there would be about 20 or so people there.
... And when he told me where we were going I almost declined. There was no way I could afford dinner at the most expensive restaurant in town...

But he said, "No, No - don't worry about it. Dinner is covered."

So I showed up - and the place was packed. There were more guests than expected and we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. It was great! I had always wanted to eat at this place!
Anyway, we were all talking to each other trying to figure out who was covering dinner, and when we raised a glass to his 28th birthday he said that he had an announcement to make.

He said that he had failed. He said that he didn't make 1 million dollars that year as he had planned.
He had made 800,000 (Eight-Hundred-Thousand) dollars!

As I looked around the room there were 3 or so people that nodded their heads as if they knew he wasn't messing with any of us.

This guy, this "screw-up" - who didn't have a realistic bone in his body had somehow finally struck it big!

I was floored! - I had no idea how to react.

So we got to talking, and he told me the story of exactly what he did.
I don't have time to go into it now - but I'll tell you what I learned from this guy - Never give up on your dreams.

He has continued to live in more of a fantasy land every year since.
He just somehow keeps ending up more free with every year that passes. He is doing more of what he loves, and less of what he doesn't like.

While the rest of us are sitting here working "safe" jobs - bored out of our mind in cubicles, hoping we aren't next on the list to get laid off - he is living the life most people dream of.
I learned to throw of the shackles of Realism and go after my dreams.
To go after what I believe in full force and to never back down.

To take whatever "little" idea I have and to amplify it a thousand fold. That's how you inspire people. That's how you inspire yourself. That's how you achieve greatness - by thinking with relentless greatness every day, and never letting anything stand in your way - no matter how big or numerous the obstacles are that may stand in your path.
And I have one person to thank for it. My best friend Tellman.

POWER UP!

I hope you liked my story. Every word of it is true, except the part about the main character being someone else. "He" was me - and still is. If you want to start living life on your terms, it's time to get uncomfortable.
Here are a few simple rules to live by that have worked for me:

1. Nervousness is your compass.

If you feel nervous about doing or saying something - that is exactly what you should do. I know if something truly means something to me based on how nervous I get when I think about doing it. As long as it isn't likely to kill me or someone else instantly, most of the time I head straight into whatever makes me the most nervous.

2. Amplify Everything!
People often ask me how I stay so motivated or driven. I also frequently get asked by other "Gurus" how I get such loyal and driven team members. Well, the answer to both questions is simple. I amplify my ideas as far as my imagination can take them. Armies were never raised with boring ideas.
Technological breakthroughs were never made by people lacking in imagination. Amazing accomplishments weren't made by mediocre people - they were made by amazing ones. You choose your thoughts. Make them amazing and ridiculous. Anyone can have safe, boring thoughts.

3. Keep trying.
Most of your insane ideas won't work. That's how you find the ones that will. It's NEVER a question of if you'll fall down - it's only a question of how quickly you'll get back up and keep moving forward.

4. Remember "Mr. Hyra."
I had a math teacher named Mr. Hyra in high school (who happened to be Meg Ryan's dad)... who moved my sense of commitment and drive far beyond what it was previously. Print this out, put it on the wall next to you, and read it every day before you begin your work. He put this up on the overhead projector and it inspired me so much I asked him for a photocopy of it and I carried it with me in my wallet for years. It is a true inspiration:

“It costs so much to be a full human being…one has to abandon altogether the search for security, and reach out to the risk of living with both arms. One has to embrace the world like a lover, and yet demand no easy return of love. One has to accept pain as a condition of existence. One has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing. One needs a will stubborn in conflict, but apt always to total acceptance of every consequence of living and dying.”
-Morris L. West

5. Try something new every day.
I am constantly looking to break out of habit and introduce interesting elements in my life. Doing this will literally connect up new parts of your brain and stimulate your thinking in very unpredictable ways. This is how I come up with all my great ideas.

Stop worrying about the unknown and act on it, June Hunt put it this way ''Worry is a choice that displeases God. When you worry, you reveal that you don’t really trust God to provide all that you need''.

I recommend that you call an acquaintance that you don't know very well - but who is VERY different from you and spend some time with them. Do this with someone new at least once a week or so. It will change your life. It saddens me deeply when people turn down amazing opportunities to try new things because they "think" they won't like it!

It doesn't matter if you like the new things you try - the point of trying them is to have a new experiences - and some experiences are good and some are bad. The bad ones can give you some of the best ideas ever about how you can improve the world!


Credit: SHABAMBO Tellman