I recently told my team, “I really need to slow down.” I’d been having a series of health problems, and it felt like my body was telling me to ease up, stop working so hard. Nothing in me wanted to listen.

I just couldn’t figure out what my problem was. Then I recalled a lesson I learned from my daughter, an organic farmer

Over 10 years ago, in a rush of adrenalin brought on by a surge of ambition, I suddenly shifted into high gear. I hired a team, restructured my website, created a new marketing campaign, purchased complicated new software, and created all sorts of new products. I was driven.

I had a huge surprise when interviewing high earners for my book, Secrets of Six-Figure Women.

I expected these women to be extremely confident. And they were indeed.

What I never expected was how many of these “confident” women actually felt like a fraud and were terrified others would find out.

Their level of fear was astonishing. But their courage was inspiring. In fact, after one of those interviews, I grabbed a blank piece of paper and wrote, in red crayon: “Do What You Fear. That’s How You Succeed.” I framed it and put it on a table across from my desk where it still stands today. 

 It’s hard not to freak out these days. Between all the political hostility, global wars, and precarious economy, how’s a girl supposed to stay positive and avoid panicking? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately.

Then I remembered a helpful antidote to fear that I once assigned participants during a retreat I gave. I asked them to keep a Receiving Journal. I did it too.

Writing in a Receiving Journal serves the same purpose as tracking your spending. But instead of increasing your awareness of money going out, a Receiving Journal forces you to face all the abundance flowing in.

 As A Course of Miracles tells us: “Every day a thousand treasures come to me with every passing moment.”  The problem, however, is that we fail to notice those frequent treasures, especially when fear is ever-present.