The Four Horsemen of Fear [WRAP 141]

Hey Reader,

A couple of weeks I told you about my friend Gina's new podcast and free masterclass called People Magic. I really enjoy the lessons and worksheets in the course, it's helped me as I build HeyCreator and FatherFire communities.

If you're a content creator who's interested in doing community the right way — a way that connects others while not burning out yourself — you gotta check out People Magic and Mighty Networks.

This week I want to tell you about a great conversation I had with my friend Corey Wilks in the HeyCreator Community. We talked about fear, getting stuck creatively, and a few strategies to overcome the fear and start making stuff.

💡 One Big Idea: The Four Horsemen of Fear

Every single one of us at some point has been stuck in our content creation journey. I’ve been publishing content for 10+ years and have a lot of subscribers, but I struggle with the pressure to produce “perfect” content.

Cory and I dove deep into the mental blocks that can hold creators back. He calls these blocks and fears the “Four Horsemen” — and even though we talked about creators, these fears and mental blocks apply to everyone.

1. Fear of Failure

“What if I’m not good enough? What if I can’t make this work?” Fear of failure prevents us from starting creative projects.

2. Fear of Ridicule

This fear focuses on others’ opinions about our work, with thoughts like, “What if they judge me? What if they don’t like it?”

3. Fear of Uncertainty

This horseman creates doubt about the right direction, asking, “What if I choose wrong?” This fear can lead to analysis paralysis.

4. Fear of Success

Success can be as scary as failure. The fear might sound like, “What if I can’t handle the responsibility? What if I lose my drive after succeeding?”

Understanding the Horsemen

The best strategy is to recognize that these fears show up when we’re emotionally invested in our work. This change allows you to see their presence as a good sign, because you care deeply about what you’re creating.

The horsemen tend to rotate and reappear at different stages of your creative journey. You might overcome fear of failure only to face fear of ridicule as your project progresses. One big unlock I had is to realize you don’t conquer these fears once and for all; instead, you learn to renegotiate your relationship as they come back over and over.

The Fear Inoculation Strategy

To beat the horsemen, Corey taught us a technique called “fear inoculation”. Here’s how it works:

1. Assume your worst fear comes true.

2. Write down what this worst-case scenario looks like in detail.

3. Plan how you’ll deal with this situation if it occurs.

Here’s an example for each horseman:

Fear of Failure:

If you fail, how will you learn from the experience? What specific steps can you take to improve next time?

Fear of Ridicule:

If people criticize your work, whose opinions truly matter? How can you focus on your core audience and values instead of potential critics?

Fear of Uncertainty:

If you make the “wrong” decision, how can you pivot or adapt? What’s your minimum viable product strategy?

Fear of Success:

If you succeed, how will you maintain your humility and drive? How can you see this success as the first of many achievements?

By going through this process, you make the unknown known, and the horsemen slowly lose their power over you.

Remember, everyone faces these challenges. The key is to be aware of your thought patterns and actively work to overcome them. Journaling really helps with this too.

If you're looking for a community of creators who are having these conversations and getting help with their content and business every single week — then you should check out HeyCreator. This is the community I wish I had when I started on YouTube 5 years ago, and newsletters 9 years ago. Every week we gather for a teaching session to cover topics like email marketing, product launches, content ideas, and building an audience. The lessons are simple, approachable, and effective. Then every Friday you can join me and other experts for a group coaching call to solve any problem in your business. Over 600 people are a part of HeyCreator, so there's always someone to chat with or cheer on. Check out the HeyCreator community here or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

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👀 One Video to Watch: Fear-Setting

In this video I'll take you through a short fear-setting exercise to use in your bullet journal. You can also talk yourself through each question and step, which I have done many times in the past.

But it will come as no surprise to you when I say writing down your fears and the expected outcomes will have a bigger impact than only thinking about it.

​Watch the video here or click the image below.

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A quick favor while I have you — if you're on YouTube I would really appreciate a subscribe to my new channel, HeyCreator. I am in the midst of filming some new productivity videos on my channel, but HeyCreator is still shipping weekly shows and shorts. Check it out and subscribe!

Last thing, I also host a free community for dads called Father Fire where we talk about parenting, marriage, career, and just funny kid stuff. We're nearing 100 members and I'm going to host a live call for everyone in the next few weeks. If you want to join us, click here and I'll see you inside!

Have a great weekend,

Matt Ragland

p.s. if you have a (literal) minute to share feedback, click here.