How to Overcome Fear and Thrive – Lessons from Richard Branson, Vince Vaughn, and Others

I recently listened to a very interesting podcast episode from The Tim Ferriss Show called “Overcoming, Managing, and Using Fear”.  You can check it out here.

In this episode, there were famous guests like Richard Branson, Vince Vaughn, Maria Sharapova, and Caroline Paul who talk about how they deal with fear while also including other valuable life tips.

Here are my notes on the episode that I believe you can benefit from. I still recommend you listen to the entire episode on your own time with your preferred podcast player for all of the backstories and additional insight.

Advice from Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group

1. He believes most people should mostly give up alcohol. This may not seem like it has to do with fear, but he claims it can lead to many bad circumstances as well as ill health, which is where fear can enter in.

2. He advises you to not be afraid of pursuing a business that you believe could be successful, but make sure it has a good chance of success.

For example, Virgin Cola failed. Big companies like Coca-Cola already dominated the industry when they tried to enter in.

The lesson he learned from Virgin Cola is that you need to make sure your business venture can be a difference-maker that's better than competition in some way. You can't just be another cola.

3. Branson says you should try things and stick your neck out. It's more fun and worthwhile than watching others do everything interesting.

Advice from Maria Sharapova, Professional Tennis Player

1. Don't be afraid to say “no” to something so you can say “yes” to something better in the future. Think about whether something better may be likely to present itself later on.

2. She's very particular about having good people in her life. Parents, childhood friends, etc. This is just a general life practice that she feels is very important.

Being around the right people you can trust can help you deal with the fear of anything.

3. Meeting people and having to ask questions can make you more interesting. She once took business courses, making herself uncomfortable to be around people she didn't have any ties to.

But, she learned a lot and grew as a person because of it.

Advice from Vince Vaughn, Actor

1. The consequences aren't near as bad as the fear leading to it. Your mind makes unknown things seem so much worse than they are.

2. General life tip: Spend time perfecting your craft and deny yourself things you want until you've earned them.

3. The more you work on things, the higher your percentage of success. If you're not getting better you're getting worse. Just get started and build momentum.

Work on what you can control as much as possible.

4. Don't wait for a traumatic event to put life into perspective and take care of health and priorities.

5. Sports can be helpful for building confidence and getting used to overcoming failures. This can help eliminate your fear of failure that we all tend to have.

Advice from Caroline Paul, Writer

1. She's not against fear but is pro bravery. Fear keeps you safe, but facing fears and taking some risks can build you as a person.

2. Being brave can teach you to control emotions and not lose your cool. Don't give fear priority.

3. Learn to step back and look at your emotions to see if fear is useful in the situation. Define what would actually happen and if its even that bad.

4. Bravery is learned. You learn it through micro-bravery (Doing small things that require bravery to become less fearful). If you have to practice bravery just like anything else in life.

Conclusion

Fear can is good for survival, but can also hinder your success in many areas. These are the valuable lessons I took away from this podcast episode. I hope you found them helpful.

Like I said at the beginning, you can listen to the entire episode at The Tim Ferriss Show on your preferred podcast player.