Start With a Win

CHAPTER 3Party With the Beast (Your Emotions)

“Moments of fear and doubt have value; they put you in a stronger place.”

—Adam Contos

We all live with the Beast.

Inside each of us lurks this creature called the Beast—our emotions, its form personal and unique to our minds and actions. The Beast dominates us through fear and self-doubt and threatens to overshadow all that we do. It can be our greatest source of avoidance or our greatest lever for success if we learn to harness its incredible power.

Your Beast is wondering if you can accomplish something or if you will survive your challenges. It's other people's opinions, and it is success or not at work. Ultimately, the Beast is your biggest competitor.

Leaders deal with the Beast every day. People invariably ask what our biggest competition is. The answer is to reflect on all that's in this book as well as to understand that each of us has the Beast within. And each of us does battle with our own fear, doubt, and overwhelm.

FRIEND OR FOE?

As a child, my Beast was a giant creature with bulging muscles, piercing eyes, and bad intentions. I would close my eyes and see it. The Beast haunted me in the darkness of my closet or under the bed at night. It was a noise I couldn't place, a shadow I couldn't name, the unknown.

FEAR ISN'T UNIQUE

Rather than chuckle at the imagination of a child, think about your own monsters. We all face similar fears—beasts—throughout our lives. Perhaps your Beast hovers over your shoulder when ...