THE ED MYLETT SHOW

Episode: MAXOUT Your Mind Masterclass Ep. 3 | Fear Is the Real Enemy
Date: October 28, 2025
Host: Ed Mylett

Episode Overview

In the third episode of his “Maxout Your Mind” masterclass, Ed Mylett explores the internal obstacles that hold us back, focusing on how fear is the real enemy of personal and professional growth. Ed tackles the cost of fear—how it limits our lives, stifles our authentic selves, and stops us from achieving greatness. He shares personal stories, actionable strategies, memorable metaphors, and practical exercises for transforming fear into excitement and purpose.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Are Your Fears Costing You? (04:05)

• Self-Examination: Ed prompts listeners to reflect personally—what are your fears costing you in terms of joy, success, and self-fulfillment?
• Cost vs. Worth:
  • Many people focus only on what pursuing their goals will cost them (time, comfort, relationships) instead of what those goals are truly worth in their lives.
  • Quote: “In our lives, we spend most of our time evaluating and contemplating what it’s going to cost us. I don’t think God gave you another day in your life because you needed it. I think he added another day… because somebody needed you. But they need the real you.” (03:47)
• Living Authentically:
  • Authenticity is suppressed by fear—personal setbacks, toxic relationships, disappointments, and our own negative patterns distance us from our true selves.

2. Cost vs. Worth – The Mindset Shift (05:35)

• From Scarcity to Abundance:
  • Ed shares his story of moving from financial struggle (“I’d get what I could afford, not what I wanted”) to abundance (“I got what I wanted, not just what I could afford”) as a metaphor for personal growth.
  • Quote: “We’re constantly evaluating the cost instead of whether or not it’s worth it.” (06:05)
• Reconnecting with Purpose:
  • “You can’t love yourself if you don’t even know yourself. And you can’t know yourself if you’re not truly being yourself. And these anchors cause us not to be us.” (07:25)

3. The Story-Emotion Loop – Changing Your Practical Narrative (09:20)

• Events vs. Meaning:
  • It’s not events themselves but the stories and meanings we attach to them that drive fear and self-limiting emotion.
  • “An emotion cannot exist long-term without a story attached to it.” (10:09)
• Reframing:
  • Ed provides examples from his upbringing and personal setbacks, showing how changing the meaning attached to difficult events can transform fear into a catalyst for growth.
  • Quote: “The meaning from it was just… I wasn’t meant to be somebody. And I attached all these meanings to what was a traumatic event. But I could have attached the meaning that God’s got something bigger in store for me.” (10:57)

4. The Cost of Not Growing – Meeting the “Real You” (12:44)

• Stagnation:
  • Many people stop evolving in their early 20s and become “walking dead,” never meeting the person they are truly capable of being.
  • Quote: “Too many people are exactly the same person they were two or three years ago. And that’s what it’s really costing you, isn’t it?” (13:19)
• Living Fully:
  • Embrace growth to continually meet new, better versions of yourself.
  • “You know there’s more in you… The reason you’re not happy isn’t other people, your boss, your job, your body, or your lack of money. It’s time you meet him. It’s time you meet her.” (13:59)

5. The Nature of Fear – It’s Not the Enemy, It’s the Doorway (15:36)

• Fear vs. Excitement:
  • Ed shares insights from coaching elite athletes, showing that fear and excitement are biochemically almost identical—what matters is how you label the feeling.
  • Quote: “Fear and excitement are cousins. In your body, from a biochemistry standpoint, it’s almost identical to fear. The difference is what you’re thinking.” (16:10)
• You Only Need 51%:
  • You don’t have to eliminate fear to take action. All you need is to tip the scale—just 51% excitement or enthusiasm vs. 49% fear is enough.

6. Dancing With Fear – Not Eradicating, But Using It (18:38)

• Butterfly Moments:
  • Reframe fear as “butterfly moments.” All great moments and memories are preceded by these nerves.
  • Quote: “Butterflies… it’s that beautiful mix of fear, anxiousness, excitement, and enthusiasm as one package. Reframed. Not eliminating fear, dancing with it.” (20:39)

7. Practical Strategies for Transforming Fear (22:31, 31:42)

a. Run Fears to Their Logical Conclusion

• “Take your fears all the way to their logical conclusion… What you’re going to find: it’s not as bad as you think.” (22:44)

b. Reframe and Rename the Emotion

• Use new words to label fear as excitement; for Ed and his daughter Bella, it’s “fired up!”
• Quote: “She started to rename this feeling in her body… Excitement, enthusiasm, anxiousness, anticipation – the same chemistry as fear. We just had to get her to 51.” (33:31)

c. Trigger Words and Pattern Interrupts

• Have a word or gesture to snap yourself out of the fear pattern.
  • Ed uses “banzai!” to jump into situations he’s nervous about.
  • “My word is banzai. And what banzai means is: we’re going. Here we go, jumping off the rocks, right?… It shifts your state.” (36:45)

d. Visualization and Highlight Reels

• Replay previous times you overcame fear to mentally prepare for new challenges.
  • “When I show my mind something I’ve already done once or twice, and then I feed it the next image, I’m likely to step into that image and be excited and less fearful.” (34:59)

e. Write Down Your Fears

• Putting fears on paper separates you from the emotion and helps you see them clearly.

f. Go to a Place of Peace (Mentally)

• Visualize a peaceful scene or think of someone who makes you feel safe.

g. Use Humor and Self-Deprecation

• Picture your fear as a funny scene to deflate its power.

h. Exposure Therapy

• Repeatedly and gradually face your fears in safe settings; over time, fear’s power diminishes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Self-Sabotaging Stories:

  • “Most things in life are caught, not taught. We catch a way of thinking.” (08:56)

• On Shifting Identity:

  • “I can’t wait to meet the 55-year-old me. I’m chasing that guy when I get there. I can’t wait to meet the 60-year-old me.” (13:50)

• Regarding Athletes & Performance:

  • “If they weren’t scared, they wouldn’t perform as well.” (15:45)

• On Felicitous Outcomes of Overcoming Fear:

  • “Every time you overcome a fear, the boogeyman gets smaller and smaller and smaller. It goes from 40/51–49 to 60/40 to 70/30.” (26:29)

• Turning Fear into a Story:

  • “This test will be your testimony. And if you don’t go through this butterfly moment… you don’t have a story to tell.” (29:36)

Practical Takeaways (with Timestamps)

• Ask: What are my fears costing me? (04:05)
• Shift mindset: Focus on worth, not cost (06:05)
• Identify and challenge your stories that perpetuate fear (10:09)
• Live to meet new versions of yourself, not remain static (13:19)
• You only need to reach 51% excitement to act—not zero fear (16:45)
• Reframe butterflies/nerves as anticipation and opportunity (20:39)
• Use trigger words, breathing, and visualization (33:25, 36:45)
• Leverage your personal highlight reel of courage (34:59)
• Embrace humor to gain perspective on your fears (38:50)

Tone & Language

• The episode is delivered in Ed Mylett’s trademark motivating, conversational, and empathetic tone—direct, anecdotal, occasionally spiritual, and always practical.
• His approach is both vulnerable (sharing personal fears and failures) and inspiring (challenging listeners to act, reminding them of their worth).

Final Message

• You don’t have to eliminate fear. You just have to tip the scale.
• All the greatest moments in life are on the other side of “butterfly moments.”
• Find your trigger, reframe your story, and take action—the real cost is never meeting the best version of yourself.
• “What we want is it to [fear] affect us less, less predominantly, and less often… All the great stuff in our life is on the other side of this thing we’re calling fear.” (41:49)

If this episode moved you or could help someone you know, Ed encourages you to share it with a friend in need.