Is the fear of failure holding you back from achieving your dreams?
Do you have a dream or goal that you’ve been wanting to achieve but keep putting off because you’re afraid of failure? It’s time to face your fear and start taking steps toward reaching your goal. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes — everyone makes them. And it’s how you learn and grow. Every successful person has failed at some point, but they didn’t let that stop them from reaching what they want in life. So start taking action today and see how far you can go!
Friends, welcome back to The School of Greatness. My guest today is a good friend of mine, Emmanuel Acho. He’s a former NFL player, a bestselling author, and a sports analyst. In this episode, we talked about living a life without limits, how to handle criticism, what’s stopping us from reaching our greatest potential, overcoming the fear of failure, and so much more. So brace up because this is going to be an exciting conversation.
Who Is Emmanuel Acho?
Emmanuel Acho is a son of Nigerian immigrant parents who grew up in Dallas with his three siblings. He was drafted into the NFL in 2012 by the Cleveland Browns, and later he played with the Philadelphia Eagles. At the same time, he also earned his Master’s degree in sports psychology at the University of Texas, taking classes during the off-seasons. In 2016, he joined ESPN as a national football analyst and was named a 2018 Forbes Under 30 Selection.
Emmanuel is also a Fox Sports analyst and a New York Times bestselling author of the book, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, a primer on racism and race. Currently, he is creating the online video series called Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. His other book, Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits, is another book you should check out, and we talk more about this in the episode.
Living a Life Without Limits
Are you living a life without limits? Or are you playing it safe, not wanting to push yourself too hard in case you fail? What if I told you that you can’t fail if you don’t set a goal? It’s true! This may seem foolish, but when you don’t set a goal, the outcome is always known — you know you won’t achieve what you desire. However, if you set a goal, you could achieve more than what you originally planned. So forget about perfectionism and give yourself the opportunity to succeed by simply starting. And who knows? You may surprise yourself along the way.
“If I’m gonna have a goal, would I focus on the end when I’m at the beginning? Instead, I direct all of my energy toward something. … Imagine a life without failure. Why? Because when you don’t set a goal, you can’t fail. So many of us combat failure — failure in our lives. So many of us are trying to figure out how can I become the best version of myself. But we can’t become the best version of ourselves because we’re still mourning our former selves. We’re still mourning our failures from our past. We’re still mourning our defeats from our past. We’re still mourning our scars from our yesterdays and yesteryears. I’m done mourning my scars. Now it’s all about having an objective with no limitations.” – Emmanuel Acho
We all have an ideal vision of who we want to be. We set ambitious goals and work tirelessly toward them, but sometimes we hit a roadblock. We can’t seem to get beyond our old habits and behaviors no matter how hard we try. The reason for this is that we’re still mourning our old selves. We’re holding on to that version of ourselves even though it’s no longer serving us. In order to become the best version of ourselves, we need to let go of the past and embrace the present. This isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it in the end. So don’t give up on yourself — keep fighting for your dreams despite what others are saying and amidst criticisms.
How to Handle Criticism
Everyone is bound to experience criticism in their life at one point or another. We invest our time and energy into something — a project, a relationship, a hobby, or even sports — and then someone comes along and criticizes it. It can be tough to hear honest feedback when we’re emotionally attached to what we’ve created. But if we want to grow as people and professionals, it’s essential that we learn how to take criticism gracefully. It can help us identify our weaknesses and areas we need to improve. The key is learning how to handle criticism constructively so that we can make the most of it.
“Criticism is the cost of praise. … We don’t realize that enough. … For those watching sports news, Naomi Osaka, the number one tennis player in the world, just a couple of years ago, tried to stop a tennis match because somebody said, ‘You suck,’ … and she went to the judge and [said], ‘Can we stop the match? I can get them kicked out.’ … At the end of the post-game press, tears came into her eyes for different reasons. And I was just like, criticism is the cost of praise. … You can’t play if you don’t want criticism. … It’s like criticism comes with it.” – Emmanuel Acho
We all want to be praised. It feels good, and it’s the ultimate sign that we’re doing something right. But the flip side of praise is criticism, and nobody likes to hear that. Unfortunately, if you want to achieve anything great in life, you have to learn to deal with criticism. The trick is to not let it get you down — after all, it’s the cost of praise. So embrace it! Welcome criticism as a sign that you’re on the right track and use it to help you improve your work. Remember, greatness doesn’t come easy — but it’s worth it! So don’t let criticism stop you from reaching your greatest potential.
