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Who Are You Afraid Of?

Name: Who Are You Afraid Of?
Uploaded: 2025-08-22T00:00:38+00:00
Duration: 51 s
Channel: Shanli Liu, CPA, CTP
Description: In this personal reflection, the speaker discusses the internal struggle they faced while contemplating the sale of their company for $46.2 million. The…

22 Aug 2025 · 1 min

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In this personal reflection, the speaker discusses the internal struggle they faced while contemplating the sale of their company for $46.2 million. The core of the conflict was not the financial terms but a deep fear of being perceived as a failure by a specific imagined critic, whom they label “Tom.” The speaker describes how the desire to impress others, especially this internalized voice, caused them to oscillate between selling now and holding onto the business to grow it further. By naming the critic, they realize the absurdity of allowing an imagined, distant person’s judgment to dictate such a consequential decision, highlighting a broader theme of how internalized external validation can shape major life choices.

Chapters

We think, I don't want people to think that I'm a failure. It's actually not people. There's like 2 people that you hear their voice in your head. I'll tell you a real-world example. So for me, when I was thinking about selling my company, the offer was for $46.2 million, and I was afraid that it wasn't enough to impress the people that I wanted to impress. And I had to figure that out. I was like, I don't know. I mean, is it worth it? Maybe I should hold on to it longer and grow it more. And I went back and forth. And when I thought more about it, I was like, actually, there's only 1 person whose opinion I'm concerned about. And then when I named it. And I was like, oh, it's Tom. Tom's the per— and like, I'm not even that close with Tom. But Tom, my envisionment of Tom judging my, my, my, my exit is not good enough for their approval. I was like, wait, I'm letting Tom have this much influence over my life? That's absurd.