The best fuel for your confidence

Fear is my life’s biggest thief.

It steals relationships, career opportunities, and even daily peace.

I've spent much of my life running from fear—avoiding fights, hiding my thoughts, and fearing looking “weird”. But I did learn one important lesson.

Past victories fuel present confidence.

It’s amazing how this shatters fear. But I didn’t know that back then.

The Voice of Fear

I've never been so afraid.

It’s October of 2015 and I’m working on Roadmap – my latest attempt to build a company that helps people grow. This is what I’ve chased my whole life. It’s where all my free time has gone. It has become my identity.

But today, I felt like God was asking me to stop. And even though I knew it had become an unhealthy addiction, I was paralyzed.

Who will I be without this? What will the people I told say? Who will be interested in me if I’m not building something? What will my purpose be now?

And so I ran for the next week.

The Fuel for Confidence

Running and distracting myself was no longer working.

But I had kept a list of everything good God had done in my life. So in my desperation, I started to read.

He helped me make friends in high school after hiding in the bathroom, overcome jealousy of my sister, build my work ethic to buy my first car, land a job in Austin after college, and find my passion for building things at a young age. The list went on.

As I read, the voice of fear -- the terrible, unrelenting, discouraging voice -- was replaced by a new one. Confidence. If God brought me through that, why wouldn’t this go well?

That day I learned the most important lesson of my life.

Past victories fuel present confidence.

When your wins are in your head, confidence will be in your heart.

The Steps of Courage

I decided to let Roadmap go.

It took awhile to adjust, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve made. The next nine months were the most fulfilling I’ve had. I realized how much I have.

Courage often looks like letting go. Letting go of what people will think and speaking up. Letting go of controlling every outcome and taking a risk. Letting go of knowing the future. In big ways and small.

When you take steps of courage, you don’t just seize opportunities—you live in a way that running will never allow. You live fulfilled.

Your Turn

After a while, I did get back to working on Roadmap. Ironically, the lessons I learned by letting it go are the most valuable I have to share.

I know that fear cannot be washed away in a blog post. But I’ve devoted a lot of my life to helping others overcome it.

That’s why I created Roadmap. It’s a personal growth game that turns your everyday wins into confidence boosts. If you’re the only one I help, it’ll be worth it.

Love,

-T.O