Feedback Can Hold us Back from Being Great

There's a terrific interview with Impact Theory's Tom Bilyeu and writer, author, speaker Brendon Burchard. It turns out what holds many of us back from striving towards our greatest potential is the fear of feedback.

Here's a brief excerpt from their interview:

Tom: Why do you think people can slip into an obsession over Netflix or thread count but they don't do that for something that could really change their life?

Brendon: Feedback.

Tom: That's interesting. That's not what I expected you to say. What do you mean by that?

Brendon: Buying something, or getting pulled into Netflix -- being obsessed about something that gives you no feedback is not scary. A real obsession like trying to make an impact in the world you're going to get feedback. You try to make a difference in the world, you try to start a nonprofit, you try to start something like this and the views come or they don't come. There's feedback. And people are terrified. It's one of the 4 central fears we all have. If you really want to make an impact you're going to get a lot of judgement, you're going to get a lot of hate, and ultimately you're going to get a lot of rejection. People are going to diss on you, they're going to say, That's not good enough, they're going to say, Who do you think you are? and people are so worried about that they stop. And so it's easier. Watch Netflix and you don't get any feedback. It's easy. There's no disappointment there. 

Have you shied away from your greatness or chosen not to pursue ways to make an impact in the world because you're afraid it'll hurt? 

I know I have.

The key is push through your fear of ridicule, doubt, and judgement by raising the necessity of your objective. 

When what you do matters intrinsically and you know it will be of service to people other than yourself your passions morph into a sense of duty.

It's not your job to be a molder of consensus or a seeker of validation but rather your responsibility to share your gifts with those who need them most.

The Truth About Human Potential

There's an awesome episode of Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu available online. I try and catch an episode each week and highly recommend it for anyone trying to grow in every arena of their life. 

The co-founder of Quest Nutrition has remarkable guests ranging from Tim Grover (former trainer to Michael Jordan) to Lewis Howes.

On a recent episode he interviewed Jim Kwik, the popular keynote speaker, learning expert, and trainer. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjdDnCN9yyE

During the episode Kwik shared his belief that we're "living a lie" when it comes to the limits of human potential. He used the story of Roger Bannister, who in 1954 became the first man to break the 4-minute mile to illustrate a point.

"How he was able to do it was he would visualize himself crossing the finish line and looking at the clock and it says, 3:59. He knew that success is an inside out process. Dr. Wayne Dyer has a famous phrase: It's not I'll believe it when I see it. It's I'll see it when I believe it."

Nobody before Bannister had run a 4-minute mile but shortly after his remarkable achievement everybody started doing it. Why? Was it because of drastic change in training methodology or diet? 

No. It was a shift in belief.

Before Bannister's run the widely held theory was a 4-minute mile would literally kill you. Not only that, your heart would explode in your chest. A proclamation that would keep most people from running in general.

The point is, when you accomplish something you didn't think you could do it opens the flood gates to other possibilities. 

We have more power to influence our thoughts and beliefs than we realize.