At
the age of seven, escaping communist Cuba with my parents
created in me an incredible ability to use my fear, changing
it from enemy to ally. My mother and father were
determined to give me every opportunity to follow my dreams
in America, even when it meant sacrificing everything
to gain our freedom - and it did! If they could
give so much, how could I let a little thing like fear
stand in the way of my success? I began a journey as that
small child - a journey of "becoming" that bridged countries,
cultures and customs. A journey dedicated to becoming
the best!
It
wasn't easy - this "becoming." I wasn't like the other
lads. Not only did I look different and speak a different
language, but I was also smaller, shyer and alone.
For months, my only companion was the monkey on my back
- fear! I couldn't ignore it and I didn't know how to
overcome it, so I chose to learn from it. When my
schoolmates picked on me because of my size, I built my
body up and became one of the strongest, fastest, most
agile athletes in my school, setting records that still
stand today. When I was teased because of my speech, I
learned to speak clearly and with such control that later
in life that discipline helped me to become an award-winning
recording artist and an international speaker.
When
I stood by my father's hospital bed as he fought for his
life after suffering a severe heart attack, losing his
properties and business, I once again listened to my fear
and allowed it to strengthen me instead of overwhelm me.
At just 17 years old, I knew I never wanted my family
to experience that kind of loss again. Using my fear,
making it my ally, I had within me the power to help myself
and others reach and maintain success.
That's
what moved me to become a motivational teacher.
In an attempt to encourage me, others had told me to refuse
to acknowledge my fears, or to overcome my fears, but
nobody had taught me how to use them to bring about positive
changes in my life. Now that I knew the power of harnessing
the fear and working with it instead of fighting against
it, I gave it voice and used it to fuel my passion to
succeed.
What
does your fear say to you? Does fear tell you that you
are inferior? Start your own journey to superiority!
Does fear tell you, you can't? Prove to fear you
can by following your dreams, setting and accomplishing
positive goals. Does fear whisper convenient excuses of
why you haven't achieved that which you wish? Make
a liar out of fear; instead of listening to the excuses
for your professional and personal setbacks, commit yourself
to travel your own road to excellence!
Here
are three easy steps to harnessing and using the power
of fear to make it your ally instead of your enemy!
When fear would hold you back...
1.
Perceive yourself as one who has already achieved greatness!
2.
Believe you can achieve your dreams and pursue them relentlessly!
3.
Receive all the blessings life offers and celebrate your
successes!
We
have all been given fearfulness! I, for one, feel it was
provided as a tool to cause us to act instead of hide
- to believe in our abilities to achieve instead of being
paralyzed by mistaken beliefs. We have a choice
of how we're going to journey to our final destination,
and our happiness and fulfillment is created in who, not
what, we become during our travels. With fear as your
ally instead of your enemy, your perception will be one
of lifelong learning rather than lifelong yearning.
Remember: you have the ability, so never give up on your
dreams - no matter what!
Omar
Periu and his family fled Castro's regime when he
was only seven years old.
Thus began Omar's journey of success in the land of freedom
and opportunity. He went on to achieve many
entrepreneurial successes in the United States.
For more information about Omar, go to http://omarperiu.com. |