Nihil Timendum Est

I was at the bookstore for about two hours a couple of days ago and I ran across this book called The 50th Law by Robert Greene and 50 Cent. The book first caught my interest because it was in the management section and I saw 50 Cent's name on it. When I looked on the back cover I read "nihil timendum est" in gold foil letters...it means fear nothing. This caught my interest even more and I had to at least read the first couple of pages. Before I knew it, I had read the foreward and the introduction of the book. The book has to deal with the concept of fear and the role it plays in our lives.

The book begins by describing the initial role that fear played in our lives...that it was useful because it helped us stay alive and be more alert when we really needed it. However, over time an interesting thing happened, the actual fears that we faced decreased in intensity, but we became more fearful creatures. The media has done little to curb people's growing irrational fear. We are in a constant state of fear and anxiety...fear of being embarrassed, fear of losing our social status, fear of things that may never happen. This fear has become a hinderance to us. It keeps us from reaching our full potential. We stay in our comfort zones to avoid the anxiety and stress that comes with being put in fearful situations. The 50th law pretty much states that while we have little control over our environment, we do have control over our mind set in how we respond to the events that occur in our lives.

As I read this book, I can see the truth in it's words. I believe that fear is a major hinderance in our lives. Fear keeps us paralyzed...it keeps us from veering out into the unknown and learning just what we are made of. I think fear plays a major part of my life...fear that I won't succeed...fear that I'll disappoint...just fear of the unknown.

So my New Year's Resolution consists of applying ideas talked about in The 50th Law to my life and working on becoming fearless. And so the journey begins...