Do you embrace the fear that comes with chasing bigger goals, or do you let it hold you back? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explore why excitement and fear are inseparable for ambitious entrepreneurs—and how reframing fear as fuel, not a foe, is the key to lifelong growth and fulfillment.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

The specific types of fear entrepreneurs experience when pursuing big goals.
How Dan experiences both fear and excitement with a current project.
The two things that entrepreneurs can do with their fear.
Why status-seeking entrepreneurs eventually lose their ambition.
The cost of eliminating fear from your future.

Show Notes:

Growth is like a coin with two sides: excitement and fear.

Entrepreneurs need to normalize fear as a regular part of their journey.

Committing to a bigger future goal naturally brings up fear about whether you can achieve it.

Real growth requires pursuing something more exciting—and more challenging—than what you’ve done before.

Many people lose their ambition because they’re stopped by the fear that comes with it.

Entrepreneurs are driven to ensure their future is bigger than their past.

Status-seeking entrepreneurs focus on external markers of success while growth-oriented entrepreneurs measure success internally, by their own progress.

It takes courage for entrepreneurs to keep moving.

Expect failure along the way—it's part of the growth process.

For growth-minded entrepreneurs, fear isn’t a necessary evil; it’s a necessary resource.

Stopping growth means losing the new capabilities that come with it.

When you stop growing, you may feel uneasy about others who continue to grow.

For status-seekers, ambition is a destination; for growth-seekers, it’s a capability to develop.

Growth-oriented entrepreneurs compare themselves only to who they used to be, not to others.

Resources:

The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan

CC: My Birth Story