What Ambit Consultants Can Learn About Fear From the Supersonic Skydiver

You’ve probably heard about Felix Baumgartner, the supersonic skydiver who broke the sound barrier by completing a sky dive from 23 miles up in mid-October. What you may not know is that he calls fear “a friend of mine.”

And that’s what Consultants can learn from the supersonic skydiver – how to use fear to their advantage. Let me tell you Felix’s story, and then I’ll share how Consultants can use fear to their advantage in almost any situation.

How a Small Fear Almost Derailed a Life-Long Goal

In a recent article from Wired, “Fearless Felix,” an Austrian who has completed more than 2,500 skydives as a professional skydiver, says:

“Fear has become a friend of mine. It’s what prevents me from stepping too far over the line. On a mission like this, you need to be mentally fit and have total control over what you do, and I’m prepping very thoroughly.”

And prep he did to overcome a very common fear – claustrophobia. Felix wasn’t afraid of the jump, but he was fearful of the suit he needed to wear to survive his 23-mile leap.

In order to help him conquer this fear, Red Bull (the energy drink company sponsoring the jump), brought in a sports performance consultant who specializes in working with athletes who perform “extreme” feats, according to the Wired story.

Where Does the Fear Originate?

Dr. Michael Gervais then evaluated Felix to see if his fear was rooted in the jump or in wearing a pressurized spacesuit for the first time. He found that it wasn’t the jump, but the restrictive movements of the unfamiliar suit that was causing Felix to experience panic attacks.

Sound a little familiar? The fear of the unknown scared him to the point of not achieving his ultimate goal. What Dr. Gervais says next is really important because it applies to 99% of the reason we let fear move us to inaction.

The doctor spent three days helping Felix figure out how to wear the necessary suit. And he found that Felix didn’t “have quite the right tools to manage his mind and emotions in the face of so great a risk.”

In other words, he was projecting the fear onto the suit. Instead of putting his focus on his real goal – “going somewhere no one has ever been before,” he was focused on the fact that he “didn’t have complete control.”

Four Ways Consultants Can Use Fear to Move Forward

Dr. Gervais shared these wise words:

“When we are in a high stakes or intense situation, it’s not uncommon for our minds to jump forward, going to the next moment and worrying about what happens when this moment doesn’t go well. What happens is we give 50 percent to something that doesn’t exist yet and 50 to this moment.”

Here are four simple techniques from Dr. Gervais that Ambit Consultants and skydivers alike can use in any unfamiliar situation:

1. Deep breathing – This step helps to calm nerves and refocus attention.
2. Positive self-talk – Being in control of thoughts and words about the situation (the jump or even a phone call).
3. A detailed plan of action – Felix worked with a retired skydiver who had once attempted the jump himself and a specialized flight team to keep his mind off the 23-mile ascent (which meant he would be in the suit for 3.5 hours up and 20 minutes down).
4. Full commitment to a vision – Felix wanted to jump from a place no one else ever had. You want to have a life like no one’s ever had. That vision can help you use the fear to your advantage instead of letting it cripple you.

So next time you find yourself in that frozen state of inaction, think about this four-step process. It helped a skydiving pro go where no one else has gone before. It can help you go where you have never gone before – forward in your goals, not backward.

Your Turn

Tell us how you overcame a big fear in your business and took the next step in the comments below.

Action Item: Still struggling with fear and communication? Check out our Brilliant Communicator Series and build confidence in your business and yourself.