779: Fear-Setting

In his book The Four Hour Work Week (and later in Tools for Titans), Tim Ferris set out his simple, practical method for taking big swings. Imagine the worst case scenario in detail. He called this Fear-Setting, based on the Stoic idea that we should inhabit the worst case from time to time. (Seneca supposedly spent days wearing rags and going without food.) In Ferriss's case, the dream, was a trip around the world despite the fact that the company he'd created consumed all his time (and joy). But he imagined the very worst that could happen (bankruptcy, theft of assets, stuck in a foreign country etc) ... and the imagining gave him the chance to design solutions. He made plans. If this, then that. The plans unblocked him, and allowed him to take the leap. We aren't all Ferriss, but we've all made big decisions in our lives ... and will all make more. Your future stories rest on your abilities to take action ... and fear-setting is a powerful tool for enabling that. Give it a go. The results may surprise you. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/779:-Fear-Setting