In this episode of the School of Greatness, Lewis Howes explores the often‑overlooked fear of success, contrasting it with the more commonly discussed fear of failure. He opens with a Jon Stewart quote that frames success‑related anxiety as a real, potentially crippling force. Howes outlines four practical steps to confront and move beyond this fear: (1) stop fixating on outcomes and instead value effort, (2) stay present and fully experience milestones instead of rushing to the next goal, (3) trust the timing of your life, recognizing that true success arrives when you have the skills and mindset to handle it, and (4) celebrate how far you’ve come, even if the result isn’t perfect. He shares a personal anecdote about being broke and learning that money and opportunity come when one is ready. The episode concludes with a motivational call to action, a reminder to celebrate milestones (citing Nelson Mandela), and promotion of the upcoming 1000th episode giveaway. Interspersed are sponsor messages for Kia, Apple Card, Capital One, Comcast, and Metro, which are peripheral to the core content.
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I want to start this episode with a quote from Jon Stewart, who said, I'm doing everything I can to sabotage my career. It's a little thing called fear of success. Now, we often talk about fear of failure, and even though Stewart may have been joking, at least on the surface, that the fear of success is both real and potentially crippling. And here at the School of Greatness, we're on the cusp of a big, big milestone. Coming up, our next episode is episode 1000. Every time I question and ask people about their biggest fears, a lot of people say the fear of failure. But almost equally, as many people say, the fear of success. I could fear that I won't be able to continue the growth at this level. Okay, I've gotten to a thousand episodes, but will I be able to continue to be relevant? You know, the bigger you get, more people might try to come after you or take you down. Am I ready for that? Success might come with extra pressure and extra responsibilities. Well, now I have to be perfect. The fear that it won't be as good as you hoped for. You know, you might not be able to hide in the excuses you've always made or the defense mechanisms that you've always had. And I've identified four steps so you can face the fear of success and enjoy big moments in your life. So I want to get in step one, don't worry about the outcome. This is huge, and it's so hard to do because we set a goal of something we want to reach, but then we say, don't worry about the outcome. Be proud of the efforts. You're going to be so much more grateful and appreciative and take the pressure off of that moment. So get the stress out of that big, big goal, looking a certain way. That's number one, don't worry about the outcome. Number two, don't miss the moment because you're thinking too much about everything that comes with it. When you have a big speech, when you've got a book launch, when you've got a podcast launch, when you've got a business that you're launching, a product you're launching, be present. We've got this big moment coming up, and I want to soak it in. I want to soak in the whole week. I want to enjoy it. I want to appreciate it and not just say, okay, we've reached it onto the next or it wasn't what I wanted it to be. So you got to be present with the moment. Number three, trust the timing of where you're at. Understand that you are exactly where you need to be. This is hard. Super hard. I remember when I was broke sleeping on my sister's couch. I had a mentor in Columbus, Ohio and I was like, man, I could really use some money right now. And he said, money comes to you when you're ready for it. And I was like, I feel like I'm really ready to make some money. And at that moment I wasn't. I didn't have the skills, the tools, the knowledge, the wisdom on how to manage that success in that moment. So, so the right success comes to you when you're ready for it. That's what you've always got to be learning and growing and trust the timing of your life. Number four Celebrate how far you've come. Even if you're not where you want to be. Even if the outcome isn't perfect. Celebrate. Don't let the expectation of an outcome make you miss the moment. Make a memory out of a milestone. You can't be so caught up in moving forward.
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I hope these four steps will support you in your journey so that you don't have the fear of success because it can cripple so many people from actually putting out their gift in the world. And you are too talented, my friend. You are too gifted. You are too powerful that you should never let the fear of success hold you back from putting out what you want in the world, from appreciating and enjoying how far you've come. You are too talented to let that hold you back. I'm so grateful that you're here. We are at episode 999 right now and we're gonna hit episode 1000. We're doing something very special with this episode 1000 so I hope you come back and listen. We're doing a big giveaway with some cash prizes, some iPhones, some iPads, some laptops, all that stuff. So come back so you can be a part of that contest. And we are doing something we've never done before. Make sure to subscribe to the School of Greatness on Apple Podcasts and leave us a five star rating and review if you can. Let us know your feedback on how we can make this better always as that helps us spread the message of greatness to more people. And text the word podcast to 614-350-3960 to be notified of inspirational messages every single week from me. And I want to leave you with this quote from Nelson Mandela who said remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead. And as always, you are loved, you are worthy, you matter no time. It is go out there and do something great.
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