There I was, sitting in an office inside of Walt Disney Studios. Huge Mary Poppins Returns cardboard display set up in anticipation of the movie’s 2018 release.

Walt himself used to walk the halls, and now here I was for an in-person pitch meeting. Two months earlier, I'd had a general call with one of their production managers, and now we were having our first face-to-face, "real" Hollywood meeting. This is what she said:

“You know what… We have an upcoming project you could be a great fit for.”

And then she told me about the project. Two Oscar winners attached, but no script yet.

“Is that something you’d be interested in?”

Of course, I was interested! And yet, after a slight pause…I politely turned down the opportunity. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

And why?

All because of fear. I was afraid I wouldn’t have time to commit to the project. Did I ask for the timeline? No. Did I ask for 24 hours to discuss with my agent? No.

Fear told me, “You can’t take this chance.”

See, fear has a knack for disguise. It masquerades as caution, as wisdom, as responsibility. It was only later on—when the indie film fell apart, when my Disney contact left for another role, and when no more offers were on the table—that I realized how fear had swindled my brain.

In my work as an elite ghostwriter and book coach, I see the same fears crop up over and over—in my author clients and in colleagues. Five ugly fears that need to be killed off

1: Fear of What Others Think.

Even if you’re not prone to people pleasing, no one likes to feel judged by family, old friends, or co-workers. No one wants Trevor in Account Services to make fun of them.

First off, Trevor sucks.

He was never going to support you anyway. So forget Trevor.

And as far as friends and family go? Well, Anne Lamott says it best: “Write as if your parents are dead.”

That’s how you turn fear into ferocity.

2: Fear of Failure.

Failure is scary AF. No one loves it. But the fear of failure is the surest path to a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.

You’re not guaranteed success, but you certainly won’t succeed if you never try. That’s Logic 101…and we all need the reminder.

3: Fear of Success.

Oof. That’s exactly what happened with the Disney situation. Success was right there, in front of me. And instead of giving it a shot, I was more concerned with how I would manage the success. Stupid move.

Also, Imposter Syndrome joined the party to say, “You don’t really think you deserve this, do you?”

Fear of success is not only real…it’s really vicious and leads to the worst kind of regret.

4: Fear of Making Mistakes.

This one likes to wear the mask of perfectionism. It’s rooted in the false belief that everything has to go perfectly to be truly successful. That you aren’t allowed to stumble and stagger.

But making mistakes is just human. All part of the process of becoming better, not worse.

And in terms of storytelling…who wants to see the movie or read the book about a perfect character who makes no mistakes? Nobody.

Mistakes have a weird way of making the journey more interesting.

5: Fear of Asking for Help.

Had I asked for help earlier in my writing career, I’m certain I would have built my business much faster and be further along.

But I viewed other writers as “the competition.” There was this weird belief lurking in my brain that I didn’t deserve to be in business if I didn’t bootstrap and DIY everything.

But humility is good for the soul. And asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Right about now, you might be saying something intelligent, such as “Duh, Captain Obvious.” Because, yes, these fears are all obvious when you step back and view them from a vantage point of calm logic.

But when you’re struggling to pay bills, when your pipeline is getting empty, and when you get rejection after rejection, these fears grow so big you can’t see them for what they are.

The good news is you can kill these fears.

The bad news is that fears are kind of like Dracula…they keep coming back. So you need a community around you to keep killing them.

Which is part of the beauty of Stage 32. You have a community right here. People who are experiencing the same struggles, setbacks, and eventually, successes.

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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