My mentor Bob Proctor always said, “The terror barrier is the biggest obstacle to success.” What is the terror barrier? This is an invisible wall of fear and “logical” arguments why it is not possible right now to take the next step in your own development towards your dream.
Anke and I were in Heiligenhafen for a company presentation the last few days. Like every week, I also had my zoom call with Hollywood regarding my film. Now there was an idea on how we could fascinate the financial decision-makers more about our project right from the start. How exactly? Instead of just giving them a snippet of the script, they’d be given the whole script, a pitch deck, a synopsis, and a logline (don’t need to understand the jargon—all good). In other words – instead of an exterior mirror, we would present the complete outer frame of the car – how the vehicle would eventually look on the road.
The challenge here is that external service providers have to come on board. My investment: a 5-digit amount.
Do you know what my heart said? “Yes. With this we push the project forward in an awesome way and have more control over the content. Because everything is already finished, instead of someone working with the first draft and then having a thousand requests for changes. When everything is in place, it’s more difficult to change.”
Then came the Terror Barrier (my logic). “Yes, but… is that really necessary? We could use the money for something else… or save it for bad times… That’s a lot… I need it today when these things will come later automatically and (for me) free of charge as part of the project … they just want my money… blah blah blah…”
As you can see, this terror barrier keeps coming back, no matter how many times I’ve broken through it alreay. It always appears at a next level.
What helped me at that moment? An environment that is familiar with these things and has an outside perspective. I spoke to Anke. She asked me very clearly: “What would you love?” My answer: “To finally get the film started now.” She smiles. “And do you think that this investment will make it faster?” I nod. “Definitely. And we have more certainty that nobody tampers with the content.” Then she said the magic sentence:
“Honey, you’re investing in your dream and not in the people putting these things together. And you know from experience – the money that you are now investing in your dream will always come back very quickly when you have made a clear decision for yourself and your goal.” I nod. “You’re right.”
Were the terror barrier voices still there? Yes. Only they became quieter when a clear voice inside me said: “Yes, I’ll do that.” When I look at it neutrally from outside and think back to my days as an event manager, the presentations at the customer, where we presented more than a rough idea on two pages. If there were pictures, drawings, short versions of the idea, etc., it always helped that the customer could visualize the whole thing in a more visual way.
The question you can ask yourself in relation to your goals and visions: Do I really want to reach the goal and go full throttle or continue with the handbrake on? What is your answer?
