Big Challenges, Dark Fears and the S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g of Comfort Zones...

When my oldest daughter Tannah was younger I took her to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 450 miles north of Chicago, for a Daddy-Daughter camping trip.

No running water, no 'lectricity, cabin-in-the-woods, swimming in the river and being close to nature.

Among other things we did some pole climbing and rope climbing, with harnesses and mountain climbing gear and all that stuff.

One day we climbed this contraption of ladders and ropes, built on a tower fifty feet high. I'm sure I appeared composed and seemed to be doing just fine, but halfway up that thing I desperately wanted to be anywhere else.

I'm 25 feet in the air swinging back and forth from my fingers, hands sweating, struggling to get a toehold...

And all of my normal instincts are screaming get us down from here right now, Perry! Like, NOW!

I don't know about you but all my years of living on planet earth have conditioned me to feel safe only when my feet are on ground that is NOT moving.

Even though I had a big cable attached to my chest, even though I could have let go and only fallen six inches—even though I was actually completely safe—I didn't feel safe.

At that point you can only do one of two things: Go up or go down.

Finish the climb or quit.

I took a ten second break and collected my thoughts, and what ran through my mind was, "Hey Perry, this is just like every other significant thing you've ever done in your life—as scary as all get out, risky, totally unnatural. And it makes you nervous because... because it matters."

Insignificant things don't feel that way.

Watching TV, eating pizza and drinking beer—those things don't make you feel nervous and scared. They don't shove you out of your comfort zones.

Later I was talking to one of the girls at the camp and told her,

"When you feel that nervous, 'lets get out of here right now' feeling, it either means (a) you really shouldn't be doing this at all so you'd best go right back down to the ground where you came from, or (b) you feel nervous because it matters, because it is important, because you SHOULD be doing it."

Which is to say, if you don't feel scared every now and then, you're not doing anything important.

Life is too short to not go ahead and get totally terrified every now and then.

It's a sign that your soul is still alive and kicking.

I'm guessing it took me five, six, maybe seven minutes to climb that 50 foot rope ladder.

Half hour later I watched two of the camp counselors race to the top on a bet. First place, 40 seconds, second place 45 seconds. Young wiry guys. They practically sprinted up that thing, better than a foot a second.

Watching them I realized that people can get used to, and even quite comfortable with, climbing at dizzying heights and doing things that are totally abnormal and terrifying to most people.

Not only that, but everything I've gotten really good at... everything you've gotten really good at in life—was a lot like rope climbing or mountain climbing.

Once you've acquired a certain level of skill, whether it's climbing a 10,000 foot peak or making a million dollars a year, it isn't such a big deal.

On a good day, you might not even break a sweat.

It's usually the first 50 feet—making that first dollar of actual profit—that deters most people.

Get past that point and the competition thins dramatically.

Soon you find you're not only comfortable with it, but enjoying it. That's how the serial entrepreneur is born—so addicted to the adventure he can't stop.

I'm come to recognize that feeling of terror, that icy sensation of exposure and fright, is a signal that what I've just begun is important.

That it ought to be done.

The fear is a signal that it's worthwhile.

Yes, you might feel fear when you've begun something totally foolish.

But you'll also feel that fear when you start a new enterprise, when you seek to repair a broken relationship, when you pick up the phone to make that important phone call.

Nothing that matters happens until you do it.

The winner takes all, and the winner is YOU... when you decide to conquer fear and make it your friend.

Carpe Diem,

Perry Marshall

P.S. Although no one could climb that pole for me, the fact is I was NOT alone.

I had a experienced counselor holding my safety line in strong, capable hands... Taking up the slack so I wouldn't fall... Feeding me reassurance and guidance as I fought my way to the top.

The day-to-day struggle of entrepreneurship is challenging enough—don't make it harder by trying to "climb alone."

In Mastermind Club you'll have me and all of Planet Perry "on belay," ready to catch you when you slip.

Join today.