Wizard of Ads Clay Campbell

FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real

Fear is:

False

Evidence

Appearing

Real

All of us experience fears of some sort. The Bible tells us to “fear not “; and according to the movie "Facing the Giants" it says it 365 times. I suggest you read them all.  

So, anyway, that’s a lot of “fearing not”.  Statistics show 90% of all the things we fear never come to pass. (These are my own personally gathered statistics and not a scientific study)

We fear our house will burn down. When Barbie and I went on a date and our kids were small, on the way home she’d say, “Honey, what if we get home and the kids have set the house on fire?” I would say something very encouraging back to her like “Well now that’s really stupid to be worrying about that!”( We did catch them playing with matches once)

Business owners today are worried and rightly so. Who in the world, 5 years ago, would have thought General Motors would be in bankruptcy? Business owners have their own unique set of fears for example:  I wonder if employees are stealing my money? Will my business survive this difficult economy?

We fear stuff like our kids getting hurt in a car wreck. We stay up late waiting for them to come in, and then they come in and they are fine, and we did all that worrying for nothing. The Democrats fear the Republicans might win next time, and the Republicans fear the Democrats will screw things up so bad that no one can fix it.

We worry the same way about not being able to pay our bills, we might not get the new house we are wanting, we fear our spouse might have an affair,  and my Dad was always afraid we would have bad neighbors move in next door, and then we’d all be miserable.

We are afraid that the government might make us pay more taxes, and that our company might be bought-out and we’d lose our job. We fear we might not be attractive enough to opposite sex to get a date, that our deodorant might not keep us from stinking, that our teeth aren’t white enough, we fear death, and I'm told, the biggest fear that Americans have is the fear of having to get up and speak in front of a group.

I have a favorite saying: “Fear knocked at the door, Faith answered and no one was there!”

Fear is really just false evidence appearing real. My Dad was also afraid of getting poisoned, because his cousin had been poisoned by a neighbor that hated him. So Dad never enjoyed eating any food except my Moms cooking. Howard Hughes was the richest man in the world at the time he was living, and he was very fearful the same way. He was afraid of getting germs and getting a disease and dying. He had someone taste all his food first, then, if they didn’t die, he would eat it. Many Kings back in the old days were the same way.

Many people are just plain bent out of shape in their fears. Most of them are never ever going to happen. My wife used to fear that while we were passing an eighteen wheeler that the driver would fall asleep and come over the line, run into us and kill us all. Hey, it could happen; but not very likely. I think if you are going to fear something, you ought to be afraid not using all the talents and gifts that God has given you.

Two great books that will calm your fears are: # 1 The Bible, and # 2 Dale Carnegie’s great book: How to stop worrying and start living. I highly recommend both and that you get started ASAP!

 

 

Taking Chances

 
I am signing on to do something I have never before attempted. I own a country music theatre tourist attraction on Kentucky Lake. We are celebrating our 21st anniversary. You have heard of the Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee? Well, I own, run and try to make profitable the Kentucky Opry in Kentucky. It’s like the Grand Ole Opry except the people that run the Grand Ole Opry are all millionaires, and I am more like a few hundred thousandaire.

I have promoted and marketed my country music concerts over the past couple of decades. I have worked with and fronted the shows for Merle Haggard, Lee Greenwood, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ray Stevens, Loretta Lynn and about a hundred others. I feel like I know what I am doing there; and some would say I have been extremely successful. I have stayed away from venturing too far from what I know best.

But today - today I am venturing into new water, and maybe I’ll be treading water. A man asked me a few years ago what I was good at and I said, “Starting over”. He said, “No, I mean what is your specialty?” I said, “Skating on thin ice”. I believe that is what a business owner has to do; be willing to skate on the thin ice and continuously be on the lookout for creative ways to add revenue.

I am partnering 50/50 on some rock and roll concerts; starting with Kansas & 38 Special. We could make a lot of money but we could lose some too. Life is a gamble. I’m gambling that I will succeed. We plan to live but we could die tomorrow. We plan to win but we could lose. Success is overcoming obstacles. If you have not had very many failures, I don’t believe you can have very many successes. I used to sing the song Don Schlitz wrote for Kenny Rogers ; “The Gambler” It goes like this:

You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, Know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table. There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.
The Gambler-Artist Kenny Rogers -Writer Don Schlitz

My wife was a bit worried by this new venture into the unknown, and said she was concerned that I was going into an area where I had no experience. She didn’t say I should not do it, but she did say, “Just be careful that you don’t lose a lot of money.” I said, “Yes dear,” like a good hubby should. God gave me a great helpmate, for occasions such as this; to keep me from going off and doing something really stupid. I am truly thankful for her input. She has saved my butt on several occasions.

But for my part - I just won’t live my life being too cautious and not taking any chances. I just won’t do it. I’m not that kind of man.

I believe like old Teddy said:
“It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
-Teddy Roosevelt

Are you willing to take a chance on something new or untested?
Do you have a story of you taking a chance and succeeding? If so, please email me the story and I will choose a couple and reprint them in the Wizard Times.

My challenge to you today is from Jim Rohn:
Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.
Jim Rohn