We’re not a big football household.

But like millions of others, my family were glued to the TV screen on Sunday night for the Euros final.

That early goal was such a surprise – and it all looked so promising.

Of course, the cliché goes that “it’s a game of two halves” – and in this case, the second half was not good for England.

And then – aaaargh! – it went to penalties…

What an awful amount of pressure to heap on such young shoulders.

Imagine being alone on a pitch in front of a live crowd that size…

And also knowing that 31 MILLION more people in your home country are watching you on their TV screens.

It boggles the mind.

I realise that these are professional players, trained (and very handsomely paid!) to do this week after week, but they are also human beings with all the weaknesses and failings that human beings have.

Each of those penalty takers knew very well what might happen if they didn’t score.

Humiliation, recrimination, abuse.

They did it all the same, though.

They bravely stepped up to the plate.

Anyway, you know what happened next.

England lost, which was bad enough. But then the disgusting racist reaction from some of the ‘fans’ (if that’s the right word for those thugs) really dug the knife in.

Horrible, horrible, and I cannot imagine how Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho must have felt.

However, if there is a silver lining to this loss, it’s that those young men won’t be beaten down, I’m sure of that.

They will go back and train, and practice, and improve…

By the time the World Cup begins, they’ll have grown in experience and resolve.

If they were brave enough to put themselves in line to fail the first time round, they’ll be even braver the next time round.

The whole painful experience of watching that match made me think about how a lot of women feel when they first consider creating a course.

Why we shouldn’t fear failure

When you create an online course, you’ll never have to do something as terrifying as taking a penalty in front of millions of people.

But still, it can feel very scary when you first do it.

Because, like the England penalty takers, you need to step up to the challenge and put yourself ‘out there’.

You need to come up with an idea, title it, research it, write it and put your name on it – so this is very much something you take ownership of.

It’s your baby, as they say.

And for some people that can be intimidating…

What if people don’t like it?

What if nobody is interested?

What if friends or family laugh at me?

What if I start on this project but don’t actually complete it?

What if I am not happy with what I create?

These are natural fears.

I can promise you that EVERYBODY who creates ANYTHING gets these fears.

I know a lot of people who create products, run their own businesses, write books and present at live events – and even after years of experience, they still have these little nagging doubts at the back of their minds… they still can get butterflies in their stomachs on the day of the launch.

Fear is normal.

In fact, fear is good.

It means you care. It means that you are emotionally invested in what you have made. It means that you have been bold and taken some risks.

Bear in mind that all worthwhile achievements require you to step outside your comfort zone and put yourself in line to fail.

You cannot succeed without risking failure.

That’s just how it goes!

If you want to avoid this fear of failure altogether then it’s very simple – never ever bother trying to do anything new.

Just stick with your life as it is. Take no risks. Keep your head down. Accept what comes.

But I am pretty sure that you don’t want things to stay exactly the same.

My guess is that you would love to have an online course that makes you a rolling passive income, helps other people, and gives you a sense of pride and fulfilment.

I assume that’s why you’re reading this email.

If so, then I’d urge you not to put off the process of creating a course because you’re worried about failing.

It’s a natural feeling that you need to embrace.

Understand that we all have this fear – and, what’s more, that even if you DO fail, it doesn’t mean disaster.

Failing means learning.

Failing means growing in experience.

Failing means you are trying to do something important and meaningful.

Failing means that you are on your way to success.

So while you’ll never totally banish a fear of failure from your mind, you’ll learn to use it to your advantage.

And I can promise, when you get that first taste of success – your first sales coming in from your first course, you’ll realise it’s all more than worth it.

The elation you’ll feel will be magical.

You’ll just want to go back and do it all over again, I can guarantee it!

Of course, if you haven’t already you can join my Course Creation Academy, where I can help minimise all those risks of pitfalls and setbacks by giving you the benefit of my expertise.

Let me show you what you need to do, step by step, and give you the motivation to keep going.

So if you are ready to get started just email me at [email protected] and we can help.