Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage.If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Get out and get busy. Dale Carnegie.

Whatever stage you are on your journey, whatever your vision, one of the major things you must do is get a handle on your fear. You are not alone… we all grapple with it at one time or another.

Fear acts as a barricade separating you from much that is good and valuable in your life. Fear is what keeps you from being who you truly are.

It blocks inspiration and creativity. It inhibits and holds you back. It nourishes negative thoughts and cynical actions. It keeps you from loving deeply, from being authentic and from living to the fullest.

None of us are immune. There are many kinds of fear. At one time or another we may all suffer from one or more of them. There’s the fear of failure or of success; the fear of being found wanting by our peers and not matching up to society’s expectations; there’s the fear of losing our job or business; the fear of the future and what it may bring; the fear of not having enough money; the fear of not being loved, of being alone; the fear of being sick or dying. Then there’s the grand daddy of them all, the fear of fear itself.

Shaking off fear can be a lengthy process. It’s a powerful enemy. The question is: How to deal with it? Here are 3 suggestions:

1. Be willing to step outside your comfort zone. Resolve to stop making excuses why you are not doing this or that – and willing to do whatever it takes.

2. Your ego creates fear to hold you back – to keep you safe, but what it does is keep you small. It diminishes you. So acknowledge your fear – and go ahead and do it anyway. It’s never as bad as you think.

3. Taking decisive action is really about taking personal responsibility. If doing what you fear means being in an “un-comfort zone” so be it. It is only for a short time. Be willing to suffer short term pain for long term gain.

Courage always trumps fear. Whatever you fear, walk right into it. You will be amazed at how liberated you feel.

I invite you to join me on Facebook, Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn or email your thoughts and comments to drew@drewsimmie.com

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Never for the sake of peace and quiet deny your own experience. Dag Hammarskjold.

Each of us has a set of values and a belief system by which we do our best to live our lives.

Life being what it is, though, from time to time you will come up against a red line issue that will test these values. It might be in your professional life or in a personal relationship but there will be something or someone with who challenges your view or take on life – and you have to take a stand.

Often it is not pleasant but if it is a red line issue, you have to dig in and stand up for you – even when your courage is thin.

I invite you to join me on Facebook, Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn or email your thoughts and comments to drew@drewsimmie.com

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Success, noted Margaret Thatcher, is a mixture of having a flair for the thing you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have to hard work and a certain sense of purpose.

There are no secrets in life. To make a success out of anything you are doing, whether it is raising children, making a relationship work or running a business, there’s no escaping the basics – doing what you love, hard work, a sense of purpose and unfailing courage.

As a friend of mine once jokingly said, everyday you have to get up and make the donuts. And no… he doesn’t work for Tim Hortons.

I invite you to join me on Facebook, Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn or email your thoughts and comments to drew@drewsimmie.com

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Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise. Ted Turner.

Before the advent of the internet, marketing was much simpler. Like everything else, it has turned marketing on it’s head.

One of the best definitions, I think, was something that appeared in my  inbox a couple of weeks ago – from Seth Godin, who wrote:

“Marketing used to be what you say. Now, marketing is what you do. What you make. How you act. The choices you make when you are sure no one looking.”

Things sure have changed since Ted Turner was on the scene. And yet, the company he started, spawned a whole new way of delivering news.

Hmmm….

I invite you to join me on Facebook, Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn or email your thoughts and comments to drew@drewsimmie.com

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We all have a story to tell, and time is marching on, faster than you think. Every moment, of everyday counts. The thing is to spend your time writing that story and doing what matters most to you.

Don’t be so taken with the success stories of others and how they live their lives that you forget to live your own. You have everything you need to become what you are capable of becoming.

Don’t let others do your thinking, talking and deciding for you. Incredible things can happen when you decide to take control of your own life.

That means putting down your old story, getting absolutely clear about who you are, what you believe, how you want to spend your days – and mostly importantly, why.

It means consuming less and creating more. It means discarding time-wasters and burdens that are weighing you down – and doing the things that make you feel on fire.

Hold your best wishes and biggest goals close to your heart and work towards them everyday. If you truly care about what you do and you work diligently at it, there’s almost nothing that isn’t within your grasp.

I invite you to join me on Facebook, Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn or email your thoughts and comments to drew@drewsimmie.com

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