Fear, the most powerful force in our life, is the least understood. Every one of us experiences it. Many arrange their lives to avoid it. Yet nearly every one of us needs to find more fear.
Most of us know fear as the unwanted force that drives phobias, anxieties, unhappiness, and inhibits self-actualization. Ironically, fear is the underlying phenomenon that heightens awareness and optimizes physical performance, and can drive ambition, courage, and success. Harnessing fear can heighten emotional intelligence and bring success to every aspect of your life.
Neuroscience and current research on how the brain processes and uses fear have torn the lid off the possibilities of human performance; yet most people are not reaching their complete potential because of a psychological roadblock Sweeney calls the Fear Frontier. Identifying your Fear Frontier and addressing it, Sweeney illustrates in these pages, is the path to success, happiness and fulfillment in almost all aspects of your life. He also provides the most effective steps toward rewiring your mind for a healthier longer life based on courage.
Fear is Fuel is a practical guide that instructs readers on a unique path toward translating fear into optimal living. By facing fears, and challenging new ones, readers can harness the power of unique motivations to achieve more, experience more, and enjoy more. The path to a fulfilling life is not to avoid fear but to recognize it, understand it, harness it, and unleash its power.
Patrick J. Sweeney II has been dubbed the “The Fear Guru” for his work with more than 500 global CEOs, professional athletes, Navy SEALs and leading corporations. He inspires tens of thousands of people each year via keynote speeches and at the Fear Institute running executive bootcamps. He shares the latest tools to live the biggest and most fulfilling life possible. He has lectured at leading universities from Harvard Business School,to Stanford’s Mind & Body Lab to the University of Virginia. Patrick was the founder and CEO of four technology companies, holds seven patents, has produced award-winning documentary films and is an angel investor in more than 30 start-ups. Before earning a top tier MBA, he placed second in the Olympic Trials in rowing the single scull and is the only person to ever summit and descend Mt. Elbrus, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and Everest Base Camp by bicycle and in 2018 won the Race Across America as part of a four-person team. He was the Chairman of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Sports & Entertainment Network, appeared on CNBC, CNN, Good Morning America, and the Today Show. Patrick sits on the board of advisors for Trinity College Dublin. He is a licensed commercial pilot and competes in competitive aerobatics. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts and Chamonix, France with his wife, three children, and two adventurous dogs.
Introduction
Eight Tips to Get the Most Out of This Book
PART I: FEAR
1 Fear Fluency
2 Forget What You Think
3 Fear Tells You About You
4 The Root of All Fears
5 The Faces of Fear
6 Scare Yourself
7 The BASE Method
PART II: COURAGE
8 The Courage Conundrum
9 Share Together or Fear Apart
10 The Best Decision You’ll Never Make
11 Blueprint for Bravery
12 Creating a Culture of Courage at Work
13 The Big Squeeze
Conclusion: The Value of Courage
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
About the Author
Rarely does a book come along that will literally change your life. Patrick Sweeney’s book Fear isFuel is one of those books. It’s wonderful, fascinating, and unforgettable. It will completely transform how you think about the things you fear. The book blends science and anecdotal stories, many drawn from Patrick’s inspirational life, to help you understand the root causes of fear and how to use that knowledge to propel your life forward. A real gem, and highly recommended to people of all ages seeking to become mentally and physically stronger and more successful.
— Brad Borkan, co-author "When Your Life Depends on It: Extreme Decision Making Lessons from the Antarctic"; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Doing things that scare you has to be the most powerful way to continually evolve. “Fear is Fuel” provides a thoughtful and fascinating perspective on how to harness something that is potentially negative - and use it for good.
— Ed Stafford, World-Record Holder; Discovery Channel Host; author of "Walking the Amazon"
Patrick Sweeney’s Fear is Fuel unlocks the deep mystery of fear that has prevented so many from achieving their dreams. No longer do we need to be paralyzed by our fears. Patrick provides the formula for rewriting our past experiences and emotions with images of courage and conquest. “Believing” is the first step to overcoming...no more excuses!
— Shay Eskew, Burn Survivor and Bestselling Author "What the Fire Ignited"; 5x IRONMAN AWA Top 1% Athlete
Fear Is Fuel laid out for me a new path around achieving outstanding success and creating a hero’s journey. It got me thinking differently. The book combines engaging story telling along with research to give readers the needed life tools to help them become a real life Spartan Warrior! I learned a ton!
— Joe Desena, Founder and CEO, Spartan.com
Fear Is Fuel is a mindset-shifting must-read. Patrick Sweeney takes us through a journey that makes embracing fear one of our best friends for personal and professional development.
— Ana Melikian, PhD, Founder of Tech Tips for Coaches
Fear is a physiological and behavioral response selected by evolution to ensure our survival, but can be strongly debilitating in certain conditions. In this assay, through autobiographical and celebrity examples of fear management, Patrick Sweeney highlights that understanding the brain circuits underlying fear might be a path to transcend ourselves through this emotion.
— Anna Beyeler, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Bordeaux, INSERM avenir investigator (ATIP)
In Fear is Fuel, Patrick Sweeney takes something we all feel, and are ashamed of, and shows us how we can use it for personal growth and development. Its not just about surmounting your fears, its about using them to learn more about who you are and how you can change . Sweeney has stories to tell - his own and others - and he backs these up with wide-ranging research as well as practical exercises. Education, which means leading out, is about helping others go beyond their fears - educators will find lots to draw on in this compelling book.
— Patrick Prendergast, PhD, Provost, Trinity College Dublin
Patrick Sweeney looks the part — physically fit, strong, confident, energetic, clear-eyed and surely, you would think to look at him, fearless. Penned by a successful athlete, entrepreneur, innovator and business executive, this book might easily have been just another one of those “emulate me” personal success manuals that the rest of us may be inspired by and aspire to, but in our heart of hearts know that in reality it is extremely unlikely that we can ever be that person. It would be a mistake to dismiss Fear is the Fuel in this way. True, Sweeney had many of the visible trappings of success already. But in Fear is the Fuel, he has documented his personal journey from hard earned success, to confronting his mortality, inner fears and demons, through an exploration and discovery of insights and powerful ideas and techniques that anyone can implement, starting right now. He promises to help us not overcome, but rather harness our basic human physiological and neurological responses. Sweeney sought out scientific expertise and practitioner experience, added his own interpretation, and enlivened the ideas with personal narrative and compelling stories from human history. He has managed to produce a book that you can read (avidly) from cover to cover, or dive in and out of, following your nose through the theories and practices he espouses in almost any order you like. There are useful gems for everyone in Fear is the Fuel, and overall a coherent thesis that adds color and practical advice to help us take back control of our neurophysiological selves, achieve greater performance, purpose and personal fulfillment.
— Peter Hirst, PhD MBE, Senior Associate Dean, MIT Sloan School of Management
In Fear is Fuel Sweeney provides a powerful balance of neuroscience and engaging stories to prove how we can all face down our fear wolf. Using his techniques anyone can learn the courage that is the foundation of a warriors spirit.
— Mark Divine, founder, Unbeatable Mind, and NYT best-selling author of "The Way of the SEAL"
