Here is the final part taken from my book Creating A Bug Free Mind written in 2010. Parts 1 to 7 formed the two chapters I wrote on Fear in the book.
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How To Overcome All Fears – Part 7
FEAR – RISK
The Paradox Of Risk - Who Is Playing With The Highest Stakes?
~ What is life, but one long risk? ~
Dorothy Canfield Fisher
People are always asking me how can I do what I do? How can I take risks? Most do not understand what drives me to always take more risk. They do not understand me.
Of course I used to think, how can they do what they do? How can they let life just pass them by? How can they not look at their position and say to themselves, not taking risks has cost me 5, 10, 20, 50 years of my life?
So who is taking the bigger risk?
For the rest of this chapter I am going to write it just to those who are not taking any or enough risks – you know who you are. So it’ll save me breaking down the different levels. If you are a person who is taking some risks then it is obviously not always directed to you. If though you are someone who is paralysed by your fear of losing what you have by taking a risk, then this is written to you.
Staking Stuff vs Staking Life
~ Don't play for safety. It's the most dangerous thing in the world. ~
Hugh Walpole
So, who is taking the bigger risk, me or you? Your ego will quickly have told you it is me. However, I am merely risking financial stuff; things that I’ve created, whereas you are risking your life. Surely you are a far bigger gambler than I?
I am gambling with stuff which I can’t take with me when I go. You are gambling with stuff which you can (big subject that one, and really gets down on the quantum physics level, so perhaps that’s too much for here). The point is you are gambling with something of real value and I am gambling with something which has a perceived value.
Let me make it clearer though, I lost all my money - all I had created. So I am simply in the process of creating it for new again (I am recapturing, if you like, that which I lost), and I am totally excited about the process. A game of Monopoly is not fun when you have finished and you have mastered the game, it has become boring. The fun is getting there and winning the game – now please don’t misinterpret that to mean I’ll ‘want’ to go down this road again. One thrill ride like this is all I need to know I can achieve it again.
So back to the point, I risked nothing other than stuff which can be re-captured. I lived every day and learnt every day. But to someone who has taken a look at personal development and ‘wanted’ to achieve success and has never risked anything (and therefore considers they have never lost anything), I consider you to be a far bigger risk taker than me. We are both gamblers; I am betting with stuff that doesn’t matter, you are betting with stuff which does, as the stake you are putting on the line cannot be re-captured! To me, you are a far bigger risk taker than me - now just the thought of taking that risk terrifies me! But you do it without fear as you are ignorant to the size of the stake you’ve put on the line…
What’s your ego saying to you now?
To Risk Or To Not Risk, Is Not The Question. What Am I Risking, Is
~ Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. ~
T.S. Eliot
So how many more years of your life will you gamble with? (You play a high stakes game you scary person!) What is each day of your life worth to you? Maybe it is about value, and understanding it. I consider myself a good valuer; I know what a missed opportunity cost is, or could be worth. You consider these to be valueless and therefore pay them no attention. Or rather you are unconscious to the stake you place on the table and are unconscious of the value you let walk by.
To me value is – every day is priceless and not to be wasted. To you, you do not think each day ‘even has a value’ and therefore you are willing to gamble them all away. This truly is unconscious egoic thought.
Though once you are conscious of the waste, you start to notice the missed opportunity cost. Your ego, whose primary job is to continually shout in your ear – “Danger, you will lose out and probably die if you are stupid enough to leave your comfort zone!!!!” Yes, now you see him/her - whilst you see them you are present for that moment. So while you are here let me tell you, your ego is gambling your life away and keeping you in the slavery of tedium and sameness. So I’ll ask you again, who is the greater risk taker, me or you?
I’d like to think that message got through, but as nearly all humans are only present at best for six to ten seconds before being distracted, I thought I’d add this line in to bring you back – re-read the last two paragraphs and observe your ego.
You just fear loss and yet you do not understand what real loss is. You look at the loss of possessions as real loss, whereas real loss is the loss of time which you cannot replicate. Inside your head now, there is probably a bit of conflict going on as it is uncomfortable when you realise you have wasted so much of your life!
You have two choices, get comfortable again and waste the remainder of your life – which of course makes you the ultimate gambler (you scary risk taker). Or you can make yourself at home in your new existence and stop gambling with such high stakes and start living.
Your ego will be shouting at you right now about how wrong I am, so do not judge my words, do not judge your ego, just observe both and relax and we can go through the rest.
Understanding Risk
~ And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more. ~
Erica Jong
To the middle class or to the person who ‘wants’ success without risk, the equation looks like this: ‘Risk = Lack Of Comfort’, or losing what I have already got.
To the successful people the equation looks like this: ‘Risk = Opportunity, opportunity to grow, make money, experience life, live more, taking more risks and get more.’ Basically success is to take part - unsuccessful is to decide not to.
Successful people educate themselves about the risk. I know what the risks are when I do all I do and I know what the risks are when I don’t (you don’t). To me to risk living with regret is unthinkable and unliveable. For you to risk what you have got is unthinkable. To me, I am risking nothing as I am not risking that which has the most value.
To you, you ‘believe’ you are risking nothing, whereas you are staking the crown jewels. I have tested both, whereas you assume you are right and therefore, do not consider the thought deserves any more of your attention. That’s IF you noticed it at all. In the nicest possible way, you are ignorant of what you continue to gamble with. Wow, I bet your ego’s deafening right now. The problem is you have been, up until this point completely, unconscious of what you were really risking and your ego doesn’t ‘want’ you to know this.
I discover on a daily, if not hourly, basis another level or area where I have been previously ignorant. I am expanding my horizons all the time and I enjoy it when I uncover a large layer of ignorance. I appreciate that I am ignorant so I am not scared to look at something which I do not know the answer for.
Unsuccessful people, or those that do not know, do not even know they are ignorant, how can they? They assume they have it nailed and fully understand everything; they – you think you are conscious when you decide to not take a risk… But I think you may have figured out you were asleep or at best basing the decision on a faulty calculation.
Whereas in truth, as everyday passes and I expand my horizons further and further, I gain greater understanding of just how little I know (I shed more and more ignorance and have more and more understanding of how ignorant I still am). To not look at this is to not know this even exists.
Most successful people overcome fear, unsuccessful people submit to it. I look at how I used to overcome fear on the rare occasions it showed up and now I view the way I used to overcome it as a waste of effort. As I now realise that there is nothing to overcome.
To Be Willing To Risk – Take A Deep Breath As We Go Deep
~ Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life. ~
Herbert Otto
The problem is that by focusing on protecting ‘stuff’, you are not recognising what you actually ‘have’. Only those who already know they ‘have,’ can have more. Those who do not know they ‘have’ – ‘believe’ they need to go and get in order to have more.
Bit deep? Well, going to get is lack thinking and lack will never result in abundance – less will always equal more. We must learn then to understand that there is nothing to get. Instead all we have to do is BE. ‘BE’ing is creative, whereas getting comes from fear.
In order to increase what we have we must be willing to let go of what we think we need to hold. In other words we need to be willing to risk. All the time we fear we will lose what we have, we are admitting we do not know what we have. And if we don’t know what we have then we can’t have more – so we need to let go of our fears and step forward, as unseen forces will come to our aid when we do.
Science has proven this to be true in the field of quantum physics. Though I know it is impossible to fully understand and therefore, needs to be accepted rather than fully understood, because it can’t be yet! If the smartest scientists on Earth say that if you think you have understood it then you haven’t understood it… then the chances are they are right. For example, I do not fully understand how social media marketing will one day dominate all other forms of marketing. I just understand that it will and therefore, I should have it on my side.
Letting Go Of Stuff And Patterns
~ What is life, but one long risk? ~
Dorothy Cranfield Fisher
In order to accept risk in, you may need to first clear some space. As initially the concept of taking risk, to what society would consider as a non-risk taker, is very scary and takes up a lot of room. One technique for clearing space and changing your thought patterns is to create a different environment.
This is also very good for other reasons as well. But clear your life of clutter, and you start to clear your mind of it too – Give away all the furniture, ornaments, clothes and everything you don’t need, now. Get rid of all the stuff you have put in your garage, loft and shed. If you cannot sell it then give it away.
Letting go demonstrates giving to the Universe and you create a vacuum which will be filled with what you desire. You are literally letting go of the old useless stuff and allowing the new stuff in.
I recently sold off all my DVDs; I had a huge collection and I realised I didn’t ‘want’ to spend my life watching so many films any more. I wanted to create my own films in my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I love films. Now though, I am very selective with how I spend my time and do not desire to sift through stacks to find a good one. I now allow the good ones to find me. It takes up a lot less of my time.
Why do I say this? Well watching films for me was an escape, something to fill my time with so that I would not move forward. It fed my pleasure receptors and therefore, served the need I thought I had. However, the price was too high and the risk of watching too great. I now occasionally watch a film to relax and to laugh.
If you are ready to finally step outside your comfort zone because you have just worked out that your comfort zone is actually uncomfortable (and the price of staying there is far too high), then like me, you may ‘want’ to look at all things you fill your life with and ask, ‘Are they giving me a good return on my investment?’
The quick answer is yes, as otherwise you wouldn’t be doing them, though this is probably your ego speaking. A more intelligent answer would be, ‘I don’t know, I’ll take a look without judging.’ And clever still would be to say, I’ll take a look every few months at all I do and ask why am I doing this, and is it helping me get what I desire or taking me away from it?
To an unsuccessful person’s ego this is a highly risky place to go as it means the possibility of change. The first step in taking risks is allowing in the possibility of change.
Are You A Rich Thinker?
~ Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. ~
T.S. Eliot
The reason you are reading this is I set out to prove that if you take all of the riches away from someone, with the consciousness of a millionaire, that I would become one again as I know that riches start from the mind. My bank account is merely a result of my mind’s work… This knowledge and ability ensures beyond any clever protection my complete well-being.
You either have a rich consciousness, or a poor consciousness. Trust me, rich is better and often it does not follow that money is in the same order. However, this does cover why the rich will always get rich and the poor will stay poor.
Risk comes from ignorance, ignorance towards understanding the possibilities of actions and inactions. Everything involves risk, but from the second you realise what the worst case scenario is, you can manage risk.
Doing nothing involves risk and that is often the riskiest thing of all. I like to think I have lived every day. If you were to die today what regrets would you have? Do you realise that if I died today then mine would be the same as yours?… That I could’ve done more… My list of what more I could have done will also be far longer than yours, but then so will my list of what I had done… I intend to have a really long list of what I could’ve done. Mark Victor Hansen had a goal list when I saw him a few years ago with over 66,000 goals on it! Just how much do we not know that we don’t know?!
Starting From The Correct Place
~ The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going. ~
Unknown
Confidence is the cure for risk. When you understand what the risks are then the result is confidence. Your problem is you are always working out risk without factoring in the full equation. You spend your life running mathematical equations with the wrong set of numbers. How the hell do you expect to get the correct result when you’ve got the wrong figures?
Of course you can’t get the right result! It’s obvious when you wake up and realise you’ve been working without the proper information. And why do you have the wrong figures? Because you haven’t even considered the possibility that you are starting your calculation from the wrong place. You have accepted without question the point at which you started. This is the primary basis for so many of our wrong decisions.
When you run your next calculation on whether or not something is risky, you need to factor in the following: -
Risk is present in everything, so everything is risky. To do nothing is risky, to act is risky – Due diligence on the risk
To understand the risks I have to educate myself on them fully. I have to listen to the education without judgement – Due diligence on the idea
I have to observe my ego’s reaction to anything new as I know it will all be too risky for him. Therefore I have to just observe my ego and accept his presence whilst I fully evaluate the idea or proposal – Due diligence on myself
Is my thought pattern when evaluating this risk helpful or destructive? – i.e. I remember that each thought does not stand still and can either take me toward something I desire or away from it – Where is my thought process taking me? – Am I comfortable with that? – More due diligence on myself
I have to run the maths with the correct maths, I have to factor in the cost of not doing this and standing still and letting my life pass me by – due diligence on the pros and cons – Due diligence on the missed opportunity cost
I have to remember that part of my journey is to fail (a big part), so if I took this risk and failed, would the benefit of failure be worth it to me? The knowledge I will receive from my failure will help me to make a better decision in the future, so would it be better to make my mistakes now on some lower risk project that doesn’t take me so far outside my comfort zone? – Due diligence on the value of probable new knowledge acquisition
What will be the worst case scenario if this goes wrong? Where will that leave me and how would I feel if that happened – could I cope with it? Would it get to me? Would it help me grow by failing? - Due diligence on the value of failing and where I would end up
When I have reached my decision then I will study it and learn from it. If I decided not to act, did I do it for the correct reasons or did I let my fear (my ego) decide for me? (Don’t be mad with yourself if you did – just observe your feelings) – Due diligence on my decision, did it come from fear?
If I decided to act, did I do it for the correct reasons? Did I do it despite my ego? (Don’t be mad with yourself if you did – just observe your feelings) – Due diligence on my decision, did it come from fear?
You are growing a new pattern of thinking – currently taking risks for you is scary, well not taking risks is scary to me – Due diligence on whether or not you need to re-read this section or all of this chapter again!
The maths you ran in the past was based on the wrong set of numbers. None of your previous decisions against acting and taking a risk as you call it, involved the calculation of how much life you were wasting by not acting! None of them included the cost of not learning the lessons you would learn by acting. They can’t have included those figures because you didn’t allow yourself to consider the benefits of them and add them into the equation…
In Risk Lies The Power Of Creation
~ There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inaction ~
John F Kennedy
When it comes to your life, the sooner you learn that deciding to do something is far less risky than deciding to not do it, your life expands and your energy expands with it. You have entered the world of creation and this is what Andrew Carnegie ‘wanted’ Napoleon Hill to share with the world – when you act boldly, unseen forces come to your aid.
When you are ready to stop risking everything you have, and ready to start only risking stuff, then you are ready to ponder on this one… The hardest part about creating what you ‘want’ is learning to stop figuring out how you will get it. As if you don’t do that it will limit the number of ways you have for getting it. - Dr Robert Anthony.
If for a second you doubt the pure science of this, then I suggest you watch the film ‘What the Bleep Do We Know!?’ That’s if you ‘want’ to see how far the rabbit hole goes: -
Stop risking your lives, learn to risk less. This is the paradox of risk, you risk too much, you are a scary person to me as you are willing to risk your entire life. Now that’s taking risks! That’s something to be afraid of! What you see as risk is nothing at all; what you see as not taking a risk is actually putting everything on the line. You play a high stakes game and you don’t know the risk you are taking.
I suggest you start doing more by risking less…
Summary of the techniques
Notice your worries. Every time one pops its head up, this is something to be grateful for as this is an opportunity to go inside your mind and look at it. Why is it there? Why did I think that? Why do I worry about it?
Dig out all the worries you can. Accept them as they are, see them as they are, recognise when you feel worried or afraid. Look at the worst case scenario… really get to know your worries. Your ego doesn't ‘want’ you looking at them, which is obviously why you must look
Share your concerns with other site members; a problem exposed allows for the solution to be manifested
You cannot achieve this at warp speed, it only happens when you are paying attention. So slow down and allow the changes to take place by shining a light onto the darkness, therefore dissolving it
Decide that you do not wish to torment yourself any longer - what is the point?
Expose your habits around worrying. Put yourself in an environment where worrying cannot persist without you noticing it. Re-reading this book will leave no room to worry, as the environment naturally exposes your worries so that you can look at them
Good or bad, it is all good. Therefore, what is there to worry about?
Apply this technique to anything you worry about. Look at your worry and ask yourself, ‘What is the benefit to me of ‘worrying’ about the outcome?’
Don't forget, you allowed your worries in, you now have to allow them to leave
Check that your beliefs are not the root of your worries. Expose them and take a good look, no belief has anything to fear from the light of truth
You do not need to get this right first time, this is a process of change. What matters most is that you are engaging in the process, not that you have finished it… as you never will have finished it!
Make a decision to re-read this book at least five times and then you know your future is certain and you will be a master of your own mind. This on its own is more than 99% of the world will ever achieve. By mastering that, you are a master of life
When a doubt comes up be grateful as this is a code word for fear and you can now go and have a look at your fear
Your ego is gambling your life away and keeping you in the slavery of tedium and sameness, is this a price you wish to continue to pay?
Practise letting go of stuff, clear out some old stuff, get rid of it, de-clutter your mind
If you have an idea and wish to evaluate it properly, then go back to the due diligence checklist so that you may properly evaluate everything
As you go through this process of identifying your fear, worry, anxiety and stress, you will simply be putting down piece after piece of excess baggage. As you do that once again you will find that your whole life seems to get slower and richer. At some point you will notice that you are not worried anymore, shortly afterwards you may notice you have no stress or anxiety. Then one day you’ll do something without thinking and if you are fortunate enough you may notice that you are not fearful of it anymore. In creating these new patterns you are letting go of your illusion of fear and no longer creating any more worry, stress or anxiety.
***END***
I trust you enjoyed those, but I think after re-visiting the chapters there may be more needed to be covered on the fear of death. Because that is what caused most of the illogical actions we have seen in the last few years. So I might write on that one next, if not, it’ll be in the near future.
Best wishes,
Andy
P.S. I have scheduled the Private Members Webinar for Wednesday 21st February at 3.00pm UK time. If you can’t make the time, then the replay will be up soon after.
If you’d like to join the webinar, then please upgrade to paid.
Here’s a list of some of the subjects we will be covering:
The Bank insurance problem
The US Commercial property problem
How we are in the almost everything bubble
The wealth transfer
Question from John: Andy, how do you rationalise your admiration of Trump and his support for Israel and specifically for their current Prime Minister?
Question from Julie: What is the best way to prepare for the worst possible financial scenario, as described in The Great Taking - a link you suggested. It is very disturbing and so I would be interested in what you plan to do yourself.
Question from Will: I don't want chaos, yet I believe "the system" of order we are following at the moment is beyond repair. "The system" has to go... yet my intention is not to be against something, but to be FOR something. In your opinion, Andy, what are some new systems that we can support and even build ourselves? Thank you.
Question from Gillian: What happens if you get to the bottom of the rabbit hole and you really cant see a way out that you like?
I read this and immediately it resonates. My soul tells me I am reading the truth. That’s a very comforting feeling. Keep up the excellent stacks Andy and thank you.