Ron and his roommates are slackers, but they’re smart. Ron comes upon an opportunity to take the software they created for fun and make it into something saleable. With investors ready to sign, why won’t he close the deal?

Robert is a loan officer. Ethical, able to close virtually any deal, with referrals coming in daily. So why has he stopped returning new client calls?

Sean just received $10,000 from his mother to fund his business before passing on. So how did his brother and sister end up with the cash while he paid for the funeral?

Joseph is an event planner for a company. Clients renew because of him, but the salespeople get the commissions. His largest client made it clear if he started his own firm, they’d be the first to sign. So why won’t he even make a side-job effort?

Why are some of us unafraid of failing, yet failing indeed—to move forward? Why do some of us get wonderful opportunities placed in our hands only for us to find ways to blow it? Many would attribute the above to a fear of failure. But, could fear of success play a role?

You’ll discover:

• Why only thinking about the end result (the goal or opportunity itself) can cause you to miss current clues to future roadblocks, and how to dig down to find the sometimes ugly truths

• A simple method to find the pain points buried in otherwise exciting goals and opportunities

• If you’re already stuck, how to get out of the mud

Michelle Courtney is founding editor of local business resource Triangle B2B Magazine. Her magazine strives to be a resource for business owners of all levels to discover new ways to perform old tricks and accelerate their business success by using the experiences and expertise of local business owners to teach others how running a business in Raleigh-Durham works, rather than national journalists.

Prior to the magazine, Michelle was marketing director for a commercial mortgage firm in Austin, Texas where she helped salespeople close almost $100,000,000 in her first year onboard. Yet, each time portions of the overall goals were met, she noticed darker and darker changes—in herself, her co-workers, and the company structure, changes that should have been for the better. This led her to soul-searching and the concludion that fear of success is just as valid as fear of failure.

These days, Michelle is focused on her magazine and writing a business book to be released later this year. You can find Michelle being unafraid to succeed at www.triangleb2b.com.