Why do people have a fear of success?

Bob,

> In my experience genuine fear of success
> stems from a fear of leaving a comfort zone,
> whether financial, social or emotional.

> When I was in the Navy, I knew individuals
> who refused to take advancement tests
> because they did not want to be promotable.
> They were comfortable performing at a
> mediocre level, and they did not want to
> leave their peer group. They didn't
> necessarily enjoy their jobs, however, but
> felt they "belonged" at their level.

> As a business consultant, I've encountered
> owners who would not take the necessary
> steps to grow their business because they
> weren't comfortable with the image of being
> more than a sole proprietor or mom & pop
> operation. They wanted the increased money,
> but not the image.

I think I can understand what you mean....

I can see maybe two things here....

One might be lack of ambition, and the second might be just that people don't want the extra hassle they perceive could come from increased success....

I'll talk about an example from my own thinking (right or wrong though it may be)....

I have a very old friend who is also in ecommerce. Her name is T.D., and she is the CEO of Bookface ( www.bookface.com ).

(By the way, I've talked with T. about some of the difficulties faced by her being not only a female CEO in ecommerce, but also about the fact that she's pretty young -- I admire women like her who face up to these difficulties and manage to get things going and achieve things....)

By pure chance, our parents are friends and we knew each other well as kids. Recently, we got back in touch....

We are both interested in ecommerce, but from different "angles" you might say.... and she is probably the smarter one here than me....

My friend T. is playing in the big leagues. She has venture capital backing, and has support from such giants like Time Warner. She's doing VERY well! Her plans are ambitious, and I admire her for that! :)

As for me.... I THINK I'd prefer not to have Venture Capital funding, and to keep control. (Though this could just be my ignorance talking here....) That's why I'm working on this "little" project, Sowpub, rather than a bigger project.... (Though Sowpub could expand. :)

I don't have any experience with running a big company, and I'm not sure I would enjoy that.... So I guess for "lifestyle" reasons you might say, I prefer to be my own boss and keep things small (at least for the moment.... I can expand later....)

But I think you can have genuine lifestyle reasons for making such a choice....

I think another reason, Bob (based on what you said) for "fear of success" in the way you are talking about it could just be lack of ambition.... If people are happy with their lives how they are, then I don't fault them for that. Let them enjoy life, I think. :) But if they grumble, then they ought to do something about it....

However, Bob, you've made me think if I should have much bigger ambitions for Sowpub!

Thank you, Bob, for those observations!

- Dien