Serve Others. Live Without Fear is a practical, story-driven guide to building a purposeful life through service, perspective, courage, and the refusal to let fear dictate your choices. Your T.I.T.O. principle, “This Is The Opportunity,” encourages people to focus on the task directly in front of them. How did that philosophy develop, and when has it been hardest for you to follow?​

T.I.T.O. developed in my mind when I was preparing for a very important and pivotal hearing as a young attorney. As I prepared, I thought forward in the case about the positive effects of success with the hearing in front of me as opposed to some other hearing or deposition several months in the future that may not even take place. I reflected how so many people think about how they could have been successful if they only had an opportunity to prove their worth, potential, or abilities. That’s when it occurred to me that the hearing for which I was preparing was the opportunity I was looking for to demonstrate my skills as a litigator. I thought how people missed those opportunities because they were too future focused and failed to prepare properly to maximize their performance and provide the best opportunities for success for their clients.

T.I.T.O. can present a challenge when competing deadlines, lack of sleep, or multiple priorities prevent the type of 10,000 foot focus required to truly appreciate the opportunity that lies directly ahead in the present moment.

You describe fear as natural but dangerous when it begins controlling our decisions. How can someone tell the difference between prudent caution and fear that is holding them back?

A healthy dose of fear should never be unanticipated or disregarded. As I state in Serve Others. Live Without Fear, a healthy dose of fear got me through night law school. However, fear becomes detrimental when it pulls at the edges of your willingness to move forward, take risks, or consider a course of action. Far from a physical boundary or restraint, fear forst controls the mind. You know fear is detrimental when it is fear, limiting your options and not your heart or logic.

After readers finish the book, what is the single action you most hope they will take differently in their own lives?​

Learn the patterns of your own body and mind, including your heart rate, breathing, sweaty palms, or other physiological responses that indicate fear has opened the door and walked into the room. Those signs are undeniable, and they will appear in the near future. The sooner you recognize when fear is with you, the faster you will learn how to guard against it and avoid feeding it. You will also understand that fear may be an uninvited guest in the room, but it never prevents you from leaving.

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