You say you want success… but what if success feels scary once it’s close? On episode #1196 of The BIGG Success Show, we explore the hidden fear that shows up right before breakthrough, the fear of success. Click the player to listen now, or read the summary below.
https://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/5-Steps-to-Overcome-the-Fear-of-Success.png430448George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Fosterhttps://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BIGG-Success-Nurturing-Your-Inner-Entreprener.jpgGeorge Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster2026-02-24 08:07:342026-03-12 16:43:385 Steps to Overcome the Fear of Success
Let’s face it: If you’re breathing, you occasionally feel at least a hint of fear of failure. In episode #1195 of The BIGG Success Show podcast, George & Mary-Lynn explain why even the most successful people you know – or know of – occasionally feel afraid of failure. It shows up as procrastination, perfectionism, overthinking, or outright avoidance. It’s a common feeling, and even a survival mechanism, as your brain is trying to protect you from pain.
Click the player to listen now, or read the summary below.
Fear of failure keeps more people stuck than almost any other internal struggle.
It’s not just a common feeling — it’s a mindset that stops capable, driven people from exploring their full potential. Whether you’re aspiring to start a business, change careers, or simply pursue your BIGG dreams, fear of failure can quietly sabotage your progress.
https://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/How-Fear-of-Failure-Holds-You-Back.png430448George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Fosterhttps://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BIGG-Success-Nurturing-Your-Inner-Entreprener.jpgGeorge Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster2026-02-10 08:34:022026-02-10 08:35:10How Fear of Failure Holds You Back
1. It may pay to push back your launch.
“Wait” is a viable option in many cases. While you wait, take a class. Get some experience in the industry. And check out The Entrepreneur Equation.
2. It may pay to delay your exit.
We’ll preface this by recognizing that many entrepreneurs wait too long to get out. They end up with a business that really doesn’t have any growth potential left.
But for the best businesses, why be in a hurry to sell? We have a friend who owns a business. He determined he would make as much in 2 years as he thought he could get for the business if he sold it. He’s getting his money now and later by delaying his exit!
3. Sometimes it pays to defer conversations.
It may be an employee or a customer. It could be your kid or your spouse. The point is somebody said or did something to upset you.
You want to fire back. You want to speak your mind. But it probably won’t be productive. You’ll probably say the wrong thing or at least say it the wrong way.
Get away. Take a break. Calm down. Get your head back so you can have a conversation, not a confrontation.
4. It may pay to postpone a major decision.
We can take a note from franchise law here. The law says a franchisor can’t accept your money for three days after you receive the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular.
You should be emotional about your business. But you shouldn’t base business decisions on emotions. Take a little time. Do some more analysis. Don’t spend the money today. Procrastinate for BIGG success!
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Some couples argue about whether the toilet paper should roll over or under. Others squabble about whether toothpaste should be squeezed from the bottom or the middle. We might be unique, but we have a running disagreement about how full the dishwasher should be.
If you’re keeping an eye on the news, you see that a lot of large companies are cutting marketing and even customer service. They’re cutting jobs and even entire departments. They’re streamlining.
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And Mary-Lynn doesn’t fill it up enough … we spend money we don’t need to because we waste water and electricity.
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Well, we spend money when we have to wash the dishes again because some of them didn’t get washed in the overload.
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So now you see where we reach an impasse!
More importantly, this whole dishwasher discussion made us think about our schedules.
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My theory is that if you put too much into your schedule, just like the dishwasher, you can’t get it all done.
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I don’t disagree that you have to be careful about overloading your schedule. I may be guilty at times of doing that, just like I overload the dishwasher according to Mary-Lynn. But you know the old saying – if you want something done, give it to a busy person.
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It’s the old 80/20 rule – 80 percent of the work gets done in 20 percent of the time. It is true that when you’re super busy, it seems like you are more productive. However, when you get too overloaded, you may not achieve what you set out to do. The result – you get frustrated and discouraged. It can even paralyze you at times.
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4 ways to keep from being overloaded
#1 – Plan for reaction time
When I first started managing people, I often overbooked myself because I didn’t allow for time to respond to my employees. I’ve seen a lot of first-time managers make this same mistake. The closer you are to the front line, the more important this is. Allow time to react to customers and employees or you’ll find yourself with too much to do in too little time.
#2 – Understand your patterns
George is more of a morning person … I’m more of an afternoon person. So we just don’t work together at all! Seriously, plan your schedule so you’re working on your most important activities when you’re at your best.
#3 – Work at human capacity
This is a tough one. My dad, who’s one of my heroes, always thought he could get done more in a day than he actually could. He taught me well! Make sure you’re not planning ten hours of work if you only have eight hours to do it. Realize that you’re human, too. There will be times when you need to slow down or take a break.
#4 – Sometimes it pays to procrastinate
A prime example is the post you’re reading. Yesterday, we were trying to get this show done and I just wasn’t feeling well. We felt like if we pressed on, our end product wouldn’t have been as good as what you’re reading now.
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So we decided to put it off for a day. There was no reason not to … and hopefully, you’ll agree that we did alright!
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Now if I can just get George to stop loading the dishwasher so full!
By 440 Dana Mancuso] Bigg Success Contributor 05-28-08
Life Skills
There were two cougars. Somehow they had killed a tiger and eaten it.
Never mind that this was in a hotel that I was staying in and that the scenery kept changing. And never mind that I was walking past these two cougars on tip toes down the long stairs to the lobby to call 911 on my cell phone. In fact, ignore completely that this was a dream I had, because there is a point coming up that makes more sense than cougars eating a tiger or being in a hotel.
So in this dream, I called 911 and told the man who answered about the two cougars on the loose. That they had eaten a tiger and were just wandering free around the hotel – scaring guests nearly to death.
Long story short, I had to hide in a hotel tub (which was now outside) and put some type of board over my head to keep away from the cougars. While in the tub I called the folks at 911 again. When are you going to come get these cougars? At least send someone to stun them!
Okay, here comes the part that will later make my point. They asked me if the cougars had eaten anyone else.
NO, I told them. Well then, they didn’t think they needed to come get the cougars yet. The cougars had just eaten a tiger, so they should be full for a while.
As often happens in dreams, this one ended without any resolution. But come on, this one needs some resolution. Someone has to come get the cougars before they get hungry, right? And someone should have recognized on the other end of the phone that even full cougars are dangerous.
As I thought more about the dream, this seemed like a classic procrastination story. Wait until later. No need to tackle this problem now. The cats are fat and sassy! But wait a minute; how long do cougars stay fat and sassy once they’ve eaten? Most things in life aren’t going to jump out and eat you if you don’t deal with them. But not keeping up can really take a bite out of your day or your ego.
This dream made me look at procrastination (which I am great at in some cases) a little differently. I had never looked at procrastination as something dangerous both now AND later, like the cougars.
It is dangerous now because putting something off robs me of my sense of accomplishment. It robs me of peace of mind. Even if I put it off now and “put it out of my mind”, I still know it has to get done. And so it nags at the subconscious.
Later it robs me of time because I have to rush to get it done.
Dreams can help you work out your “awake life”. This one was a step in the right direction for me. Instead of siding with the 911 voice, I strongly opposed putting off catching the cougars and wanted to take action now. Not a bad anti-procrastination statement! Maybe next time I can catch the cougars and conquer procrastination forever? I’ll tell you what I find out. Anyone have a stun gun I can borrow? Related posts
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Some couples argue about whether the toilet paper should roll over or under. Others squabble about whether toothpaste should be squeezed from the bottom or the middle. We might be unique, but we have a running disagreement about how full the dishwasher should be.
If you’re keeping an eye on the news, you see that a lot of large companies are cutting marketing and even customer service. They’re cutting jobs and even entire departments. They’re streamlining. 
And Mary-Lynn doesn’t fill it up enough … we spend money we don’t need to because we waste water and electricity. 