Jerry Snover: Why Fear Keeps Us From Our Best Work

So when you were growing up in Bayshore, my recollection is you were an athlete, runner, soccer player.

Uh, I was, I was a

runner, like you were a runner, I believe.

Um, I was a runner, you know, and I ran all three seasons here.

I cross country winter and spring, which was, which was never got the sympathy you deserve because you're stuck with the same people and it's not, you know, a one, one season sport.

Uh, and it, you know, but, uh, you know, I wasn't, I wasn't particularly good necessarily.

It wasn't until senior year, uh, when I stopped caring that I got better.

Hmm.

I literally remember that in cross country.

You know, I think I was a timid kid growing up.

And I think during high school is when I started to come out of my shell all the way to senior year.

And, you know, fear and timidness, you know, a little bit really holds people back.

And I think I was a little bit just happy to be, you know, you know, be in the pack, so to speak.

And I remember senior year just sort of you know, going down these downhills and cross country dangerously.

So with my big gawky legs, just strides opening up and passing people left and right.

And, uh, my high school coach was almost mad at me.

He's like, you know, why now, you know, and it was just, it was more of an emotional thing.

You know, I think it's an interesting point actually, uh, that, you know, um, you know, not to be fear, fearful of success.

You know, some people are fearful of advancement or success or what brings with that.

So, so I, all of a sudden I loved it and I was going to run at union, by the way, I was coach Russ Ebbets.

I don't know if you remember him.

Well, I was on the cross country team.

He recruited me.

But having done three seasons for, you know, freshman, sophomore, junior and senior, you know, I was just sort of done.

And I couldn't, you know, the level of training and dedication to be competitive.