As a sport psychology consultant, I have been very fortunate over the years to learn from and interact with successful and unsuccessful political leaders, teachers, business executives, athletes, actors, musicians, students, and parents of all disciplines, levels, genders, and ethnic backgrounds.

Usually as I interact with these people, I often ask them to describe to me the characteristics, thought patterns, and attributes that have made them the person they are today.

Invariably, I have found that the overall thematic structure of successful people involves optimal confidence, a vigor to achieve success rather than a fear of failure, a supreme work ethic and many other positive characteristics.

On the other hand, I have noticed those that are continually unsuccessful… fear failure to the point that confidence and motivation levels are low, possess low self-confidence, and are continually pessimistic.

For this article, I would like to share in detail the basic themes of the successful people I have met.  In fact, I have compiled their answers over the years and have created an ACRONYM entitled NO FEAR.  NO FEAR represents a mindset to success, a way of thinking to combat that fear of failure that often hinders us from reaching success.

I have been blessed to teach this acronym all over the World, from Africa, to the Caribbean to Europe, to the US… from elite professionals, to elementary students, to doctoral students, to teachers the NO FEAR mindset has been presented to many different populations.

I present this to you in the hopes that you can take this knowledge with you.  Use it whenever you need the umph, need to make that tough decision, or need that positive thought during failure.  I have found that this acronym has helped people with making positive life changing choices.

Okay…so here we go:

NO FEAR

The N of NO FEAR follows the words of the late great Collegiate Basketball Coach, Jim Valvano:  NEVER EVER GIVE UP.

The words tenacity, perseverance, and determination all come to mind when thinking about all of the successful peoples’ statement on what has made them successful.

You are going to experience hurdles, whether it be athletically, socially, professionally, academically… you will experience failure.  It is those people that can pick themselves up and learn from failure, get back on that proverbial horse no matter how bad it gets and try again.

Take for example some of the following famous people:

Henry Ford went bankrupt five times before he became an automotive industry leader.

Walt Disney's first cartoon production company went bankrupt.

Oprah Winfrey was fired from her television reporter's job because she was "unfit for TV."

Babe Ruth spent almost two thirds of his time trudging back to the dugout.  From a pure numbers perspective, he saw significantly more failure at the plate than success.

Thomas Edison's boyhood teacher told him he was too ignorant to learn
anything.

The next letter in the NO FEAR acronym is the O which stands for OPTIMISM.

Optimism can be defined as seeing and expecting the future in a positive manner.

Optimism is one of the most powerful predictors of future achievement.

Optimism is a learned habit of thought and has a very large impact on your feelings and behavior.  Evidence has shown that optimism has a significant influence on health, happiness, and achievement.

Dr Martin Seligman in over 30 years of research has shown optimists to be more successful than equally talented pessimists in business education sport and politics.

Optimistic people are more likely to be determined, decisive, and persistent.  They believe they will achieve success frequently and their failures will be short lived.  Their optimism inspires them to achieve success.

You can learn to become optimistic.

It takes time to change thought patterns and explanatory styles, but with hard work and determination, changes can occur.

The first step in change is to become self-aware.  What type of explanatory style do you have?  Are you ready to change?  If so, I challenge you to do more research on optimism by picking up the book Learned Optimism by Dr. Martin Seligman.  It is a life changer.

So we have N – Never ever give up, O – Optimism

The F in the acronym stands for FOCUS ON SETTING AND ACHIEVING GOALS.

This was always a major theme within the successful world.

Anyone who does anything worthwhile anywhere has consciously or unknowingly followed through on goals.

Goals keep us focused on a purpose.

Goals feed determination through difficult times when many others less motivated would give up.

Everyone has dreams… what is your dream?  We live in a day and age where achieving dreams can exist!!

A Dream is a long term goal!  Put your Dream or Long Term Goal on TOP OF THE STAIRCASE and then create INTERMEDIATE GOALS from the bottom stair to the top of the stairs to reach your dream.  Then create short term goals that help you achieve the intermediate goals which will help you climb the stairs… when you do this… YOUR DREAM starts to become attainable.

The staircase turns into a checklist to your dreams in which you are checking off positive stages everyday.

So we have N – Never ever give up, O – Optimism, F-Focus on Setting and Achieving Goals

E stands for Enjoy What You Do

Successful Athletes Enjoy their SPORT.

James Taylor sings in his song Secret O' Life “The Secret to Life is to ENJOY THE PASSAGE OF TIME.”

Be honest with yourself.  Are you enjoying what you're doing today... or this week?  Successful people do.  Are you going to pick a major in college, choose a job after graduation, or choose an athletic lifestyle that you are going to enjoy?

Well, I CHALLENGE YOU TO!

I have found that successful athletes enjoy the challenge, the game, the sheer excitement of what they're practicing.

It is important to note that many of the successful athletes I have interviewed have had moments in their life that are less than thrilling... but they expect them and shuck them off as trivial by comparison with the excitement of their productive lives.

What comes out clearly in research is that the truly successful athletes feel blessed by their achievements... and delighted at the opportunity to work on their weaknesses and problems that make up their athleticism.

Will you feel this way?  Or will you feel pure drudgery getting up and facing yet another day of practice or game?

So we have N – Never ever give up, O – Optimism, F-Focus on Setting and Achieving Goals, E - Enjoy What You Do

A stands for Ask Questions

I have found the successful athletes that I have interviewed are constantly learning and are not afraid to ask questions to get better.
Research on successful athletes reports that the truly successful are under no illusions that they know it all or that what they know today will be sufficient to enable them to compete tomorrow.

They have succeeded because of their ability to change, retool, rethink, develop, and discard previously usable ideas, and they know that this is what they must continue to do to remain successful.

Thus, whether with formal or informal programs of education, they are committed to staying abreast of the crucial developments that will enable them to remain successful.

For me, I teach my athletes to constantly read, challenge, and ask questions.  You must constantly think outside the box to get better.

So we have N – Never ever give up, O – Optimism, F-Focus on Setting and Achieving Goals, E - Enjoy What You Do, and A - Ask Questions

R stands for Relaxed Fun

I know this is an action that may not be a problem right now, but by the time you increase in your basketball level, hoops can consume you.

I have found that successful people find it important to take time to:

Create a plan for balancing their career, spiritual needs, self-care, relationships and play.

They allow time for each element in their life.

They actually plot out the hours of the day and set aside time for each portion of their life to create a balance.

I challenge YOU to plan time for relaxation.  There are many relaxation techniques to utilize but praying is one of the best relaxation and coping mechanisms out there.  The peace that you receive from just 10 minutes a day, will help you more than any acronym or self help book out there.

OKAY, so there it is… THE NO FEAR acronym.

N - Never ever give up
O - Optimism

F - Focus on Setting and Achieving Goals
E - Enjoy What You Do
A - Ask Questions
R - Relaxed Fun

Take it and put it in your pocket for a day that you need it.  I wish you all of the best in your future endeavors.