Don’t Let Fear Control You
Fear is the biggest roadblock to success. It can prevent us from even trying or it can throw us down a long and costly detour, as we veer off the main path in an attempt to go around an obstacle. The nasty thing about most detours is that they take us down back roads with lots of potholes to fall into. Worst of all, if you get lost or break down, back roads normally don’t have a lot of service stations to help with repairs. In life, taking a back road can mean losing needed support and resources that could have helped you succeed.

Don’t fear the obstacles in the road and don’t let them deter you from your goals in life. Instead, find ways to go over, clear away, or dig under the obstacle, but never leave the main road. Fear can also make us doubt ourselves. If we listen too closely to it, we are going to believe that dark inner voice that says we will never make it, and most people will just pull off to the side of the road and stop, or turn around and head back to the safety of what is comfortable and easy.

Fear of failure is also a huge reason that success can seem elusive. When you take risks, sometimes you will fall down, but if you never take any risks, then you will never accomplish anything great.

Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
– Jim Rohn

Never Stop Learning
No one ever achieved true, long-lasting, honest success by being mediocre. To achieve success, you must be a genuine expert or a fraud. The latter may gain you short term success, but you will eventually be found out. Success does not come from merely being the best at the moment: it comes from consistently gaining a better understanding and staying up-to-date on your industry trends. If you are using yesterday’s information to make decisions today, you are already behind the curve.

Set aside time every day for reading and learning. Gain as much knowledge as you can as often as you can. Most people’s downfall comes when they believe that their expertise is complete, that they have nothing new to learn. We call them know-it-alls, and nobody likes a know-it-all. Being in a constant state of learning not only keeps you educated, but it also keeps you humble and open to counsel from others. Thinking that you can make it all on your own never leads to success, so surround yourself with people smarter than you so that you always have room to grow.