I have a little ritual each morning, my dogs get me out of bed around 5:30am, so I take them outside, then feed the animals (Billie, Taylor [dogs] and Winston, Calin and Max [cats] – Im trying on the crazy old guy hat early, I know). At that point, I usually make my breakfast (which lately has been non-fat Greek Yogurt and some fruit), brew a cup of coffee, and turn on the Mac Pro.

Normally I scan my email for fires (which there arent usually any, since I have just read my email before bed at 1am/2am the night before). Then get into reading the 350+ blogs that I monitor daily. I dont read every post on every blog every day, often just zooming through headlines to find the interesting tidbits.This morning, I decided that I would start with my “Venture Capital” section of blogs. I checked to see if any of the Foundry guys posted. Nothing. Fred Wilson always has interesting things to read, but recently, the posts have been more personal. But, this morning he posted about the music business and specifically, Rick Rubin.

Now, the first album I ever bought was Radio by LL Cool J in 1985. (By bought I mean with my money, not my parents.) I followed that up with License to Ill by the Beastie Boys in 1986. I became a huge Rick Rubin fan at that time. Over the years, Rick has continued to be an amazing producer (imagine the power house of the promotional wizardry of Russell Simmons coupled with Rick Rubin – the complete lack of fear must have been palatable.)

In reading this article, while it was interesting to read about Rick and his “wacky” style, plus his take on how to save the music industry (Fred does a much better job of that), two sentences in the 10 page article really hit me.

To the right of Barnett’s large desk, above the framed Johnny Cash portrait, is a sign that reads, “Your Faith Needs to Be Greater Than Your Fear.” “I have always believed that,” Barnett told me in mid-August, “but it seems particularly relevant at the moment.”

I wish I knew where that statement came from. Perhaps its a lyric? But the concept, the sentiment really blew me away.

There are so many contexts where this rings true. When people refer to me as a risk taker, I always reply, “Im not a risk taker; I just have ultimate faith in myself.” In the business world, I have built a decent reputation as a search engine marketer / business development guy through the luck of being part of a growing industry (which has been grown into a monster in many ways), and coupled with having some early success. In some ways that faith in myself has extended itself to others; and they have given me the gift of faith in me.

But, I am relatively socially inept. In a social context, my fear is greater than my faith. I have no faith that my contribution is welcome or additive. With many business related things, I feel that people leave the conversation with something helpful. I am not sure how helpful I am socially. My Fear is Greater Than My Faith.

So, thats my challenge. I need my faith to be greater than my fear in everything. How does one do that? Well, the major difference between faith and science is the acceptance of the unknown outcome.

The science side of my brain knows that if I can control each step of a process, then the outcome can be controlled as well. The faith side knows not what the outcome will be; but that I will be strong enough to handle it, and that, most likely, it would be a positive outcome.

In the business world, my faith is intertwined with science. I can control most of the process, and I know it will probably end well. In the social world, I have no control. Maybe thats it? The acceptance of no control.

My dad always tells me that its easier to do what you do well, than try something new (gotta love the Michigan wisdom). Knowing the easy path isnt always the best path (how I learned that is a post for another day), so I am going to start having faith in my social interactions. And, in the hope that I will learn to have my faith be greater than my fear, I am asking my friends to give me feedback.

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