Scared Speechless: My Crazy Journey to Mastering Fear by Rosell Roy

Author:Rosell, Roy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Roy Rosell
Published: 2018-01-24T16:00:00+00:00

Do You Need Positive Thinking to Achieve Success?

About halfway through writing this book, I got into an online skirmish about the power of positivity with an older gentleman who runs a public speaking assistance program in the U.K. He’d read an article I’d written about how positive thinking and the rejection of doubt transformed my life. He insisted I was mistaken—that I was just confused. He argued: “How much positivity do you need to ride a bicycle—or, once you’ve learned (and you keep learning), do you just get on with it? Once you know you can do something effectively, you don’t need to make a big deal of it in your thinking.”

He raised an interesting argument: Do you need positive thinking to achieve success? Can pessimists become top-level executives, successful athletes, and great public speakers? In my experience with public speaking, working out, entrepreneurial ventures, or anything I’ve tried and failed at, it was always the things I believed I would achieve that ended with the results I wanted. But after some inconclusive research, I decided to gather more data.

So, I applied to be an event host at the largest gathering of business leaders in America. Everyone from top executives at Google and Facebook to Paramount Pictures, Red Bull, and ESPN gathered to brainstorm the next generation of products, network with each other and party. I visualized that I’d get a call from the recruiter, blow their minds in the interview, and make it impossible for them to reject me. All of that happened. But was my positive thinking the reason?

As an aspiring marketer, surrounded by hundreds of business leaders and the most creative minds of the twenty-first century, I felt like a fat little kid at Hometown Buffet. I pranced around, picking brains, trying to figure out the association between these executives’ successes and positive thinking.

Ninety percent of the leaders I talked to spoke about success philosophically—about the power of visualization, relentless positivity, and having an unshakeable belief that “I’ll achieve what I dream of achieving.” They spoke of “setting your goals, working hard, and trusting the process.” They didn’t mention degrees, training, or professional development.

Then there was the ten percent who told it straight. They talked about taking emotions out of work, that there are no “friends” in business, and suggested I form a long list of business connections to support my climb to triumph. They talked about a relentless work ethic, being the first in and last out, meditating to stay sane, and fighting to the death for what I want—no mention of having an A+ attitude.

To the few that gave me the latter responses, I asked an additional question: “I’m a pessimist. I’m going to work my butt off, but I’m not sure my efforts will result in me achieving my goal. Can I kill my fears and rise through the ranks with a negative attitude?”

This caught them off-guard. Some laughed and diverted the question. Others gave me a straightforward “No!” Some stumbled and fumbled to

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