Saying YES .. Afraid You Are

Let me share something deeply personal with you.

When I was about to do my first real estate investment deal 🏡, fear almost got the best of me. I remember standing in the living room of the property, heart racing. The numbers made sense. The deal seemed solid. Yet, I was ready to say NO.

Not because it was a bad deal, but because saying YES meant stepping into the unknown. It meant betting on myself in a way I hadn’t before.

That moment reminded me of something I’d heard Ed Mylett talk about: the real reason people say NO is fear.

Fear of change.

Fear of success.

Fear of being vulnerable to a new reality.

Fear of embarrassment.

Fear of ridicule.

Robin Sharma echoes this in his teachings: “All change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.” The messiness of that middle part? That’s what keeps so many of us stuck in our comfort zones.

Looking back, my hesitation wasn’t about the property. It was about the story I was letting that nasty voice inside my head tell myself.

What if I lost money? 💸

What if I wasn’t as capable as I believed?

What if this choice exposed me as an imposter?

These “what-ifs” were Little Nicky's way of trying to protect me from risk, but as Jocko Willink says, “Discipline equals freedom.”

Saying YES meant embracing the discipline of learning, failing, and growing.

Ultimately, I said YES .. and that first deal became a cornerstone of everything I’ve built since. It wasn’t smooth or easy. But it was worth it.

Here’s the thing: when you find yourself saying NO to an opportunity that aligns with your goals, ask yourself this: is it really a NO? Or are you just afraid of what YES requires of you?

🤔

💡 YES demands action.
💡 YES demands courage.
💡 YES demands stepping into a version of yourself that’s stronger, smarter, and more capable than you are right now.

That’s scary—and that’s okay. But fear doesn’t mean you’re not ready. It means you’re human.

What YES are you holding back on today?

Maybe it’s launching a project 🚀, starting a fitness routine 🏋️, or opening up in a relationship 💞.

Whatever it is, remember this: the scariest YES often holds the key to your greatest growth.

Giddy up,

Nick