My most important rule.
Of all the rules I try to live by, this is the most important. I believe that nothing of any significance is accomplished while we are in our comfort zone.

The meaning of comfort zone differs for all of us.
I think the definition of comfort zone varies for each one of us. To me, “comfort zone” means pretty much what it says. It’s a place where I’m comfortable. It’s a place where I feel safe in most every way; it’s where I’m not at risk of embarrassment or financial loss, and where I pretty much know, and am very much in control of, what’s going to happen next.

For me to be outside of my comfort zone, means to be doing an activity that places something that is significant to me at risk. This could be something as dramatic as my life, or my entire financial worth, or something as intangible as my emotional feelings.

Most people would rather be dead.
A simple example of something that places many people outside of their comfort zone is public speaking. This is especially true when one is on the shy side. The very thought of it can be absolutely frightening. Jerry Seinfeld jokes that public speaking is the number one fear for most people, second only to death. He says this means that if most of us had to be at a funeral, we would rather be in the coffin than delivering the eulogy.

I manage shyness. It does not manage me.
I am naturally shy and I have always worked very hard to overcome this tendency. I’ve worked so hard on this that people who know me will read my claim about being shy and simply won’t believe it. Nevertheless, to this very day I cringe inside when I meet someone new, or if I’m introduced to a new group. It’s particularly agonizing for me when I agree to do any public speaking.

Throughout my entire life I’ve never been able to get past the uncomfortable feelings that come with shyness. However, what I’ve been able to do is to meet my shyness head on, let go of the comfort zone and forge ahead. As a result I’m able to meet new people, carry on conversations with strangers (particularly those who are in the limelight for whatever reason) and do public speaking to any size group.

I like public speaking because it makes me feel alive.
At this point in my life I can do pretty much what I want to do. There’s no need for me ever to do public speaking. With rare exception I still accept most invitations to do so, and still typically stumble early on in the talk before I hit my stride (often I’ve been told that people don’t notice the stumble, but I know it!). The reason I do so is because afterwards I feel alive, and I have a sense of accomplishment and recognition that just wouldn’t happen if I instead stayed burrowed in my office.

After our Super Bowl ad aired, I was asked to be interviewed by many major shows.
During the week that followed the Super Bowl in which Go Daddy’s second ad spot was cancelled, I was asked to do many interviews so that the media could get our side of the story. I appeared on a number of television shows, like CNBC’s BullsEye with Dylan Rhatigan, Fox News Live, and The O’Reilly Factor. I also was interviewed by many radio shows, the most notable being The Howard Stern Show. Before each show I felt the anxiety that most of us feel who are shy. This was particularly the case just before I was interviewed on The O’Reilly Factor by Bill O’Reilly —- who all of us know has a reputation for being a bit hard on his guests.

I did not miss an interview.
The easy thing to do would have been to not do the interviews. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing or making a fool of myself. In fact, my associates were amazed when I agreed to be on The O’Reilly Factor. They were well aware of Bill O’Reilly’s tendency (as they put it) to tear up his guests. In spite of that, I knew that Bill O’Reilly’s show is one of the most watched shows on cable, and that I needed to step up and tell our story. I felt like if I didn’t let the world know that I believed in my heart that there was nothing wrong with our Super Bowl commercial, that only the other side of the story would be told — plus Go Daddy would miss a wonderful chance to get some tremendous free exposure in major media.

I even went on The O’Reilly Factor.
So I went on each and every show I was asked to appear on, and also did The O’Reilly Factor. As it turned out, the anxiety I felt just before each show dissolved completely as soon as the show began, and I did just fine. I was able to tell Go Daddy’s side of the story and we received a tremendous amount of free publicity. There was also an additional benefit. After each interview, I became more confident and energized.

As fate would have it, the last television show I appeared on was The O’Reilly Factor. While many of my friends and business supporters who watched the show believed that Bill “came after me” and I handled it just fine, I personally believe that he was easy on me, and that more than anything, Bill O’Reilly had fun doing the interview.

Because I did those interviews, I now have my very own radio show!
After doing all those interviews, I realized that not only was I able to do them well, but that I enjoyed doing them. As a result of that, I now have my own weekly radio show. The show's called Radio Go Daddy and I have an absolute blast doing it. The show is not a commercial for Go Daddy — that wouldn't be much fun. Instead, it's simply my slant on what's happening on the internet and in the world today. It's easy to listen to, just go to RadioGoDaddy.com. You can hear any show, any time. In fact, if you listen over the internet, there are no commercials. The important thing to realize is that before doing those interviews, the last thing I ever imagined was me having my own show. The realization that I could have my own show and would have fun doing it, happened only because I stepped outside of my comfort zone.

Many things require us to be out of our comfort zone.
While public speaking and appearing on radio and television are good examples of challenges that require us to be out of our comfort zone, there are other events that are certainly more profound and traumatic in nature. I’ve experienced many of these types of events as well.

Putting your life at risk definitely takes you out of your comfort zone.
In my life, nothing compares to the feeling that I experienced when I was a replacement just getting to my rifle company in the bush during the height of the Viet Nam war. At that time, the fatality rate on our side each week was in the hundreds. Yet I did what I needed to do and got through it. I’ve often felt that if I was able to survive being on the ground with a Marine Corps combat rifle company, I have the ability to get through anything. I’ll talk more about my relevant experiences in Viet Nam later on when I discuss another rule of mine: “Take things one day at a time.”

Starting a new business venture is perhaps the best example.
A close second to the anxiety I felt in Viet Nam was the feeling I had each time I stepped out of my comfort zone when time I started a new business. In fact, the experience wasn’t much different for each of the three businesses I started.

Failure is a tough word, particularly when it involves money and pride.
The feeling of being outside your “financial risk” comfort zone has its own array of symptoms. First, there’s the feeling of being — either a little or a lot — afraid or scared. This is the feeling that what you’re doing might not be the right thing to do. After all, we all want to do the right thing. And then there’s the fact that comes from realizing that whatever it is that we’re doing might result in us losing something very important to us. It could be the possibility of losing money that worries us, or it could be our pride, often it’s both. I suppose the collective name for this is “fear of failure.” It’s a tough word, and the very thought of it has hobbled many a brilliant venture.

Something magical happens when we face our fears.
Whenever I first leave my comfort zone and wrestle with the initial anxieties that accompany all those fears of failure, something that is almost magical then happens. I become empowered and energized. I believe that each time we leave our comfort zone, it becomes easier to leave it the next time and we are able to take bigger chances and more and more put ourselves at risk. With this also comes the incredible feeling of excitement. I can tell you that for me, there is nothing that quite compares to this feeling. It is, indeed, a wonderful thing. It makes me feel alive, and in the moment. It makes me feel special. And it is this special feeling that has enabled or empowered me to accomplish whatever it is that I’ve accomplished during my life.

I would have accomplished nothing had I not stepped outside my comfort zone.
I was able to start and succeed with Parsons Technology and GoDaddy.com only because I made a conscious decision to leave and stay out of my comfort zone. Had I not made this decision to leave my comfort zone and put everything on the line, I would never have started, much less succeeded, with either of these businesses.

We determine how we deal with risk.
Over the years I have discovered that we all have the ability to determine what we feel when we’re outside of our comfort zone. That’s right, we can actually make the choice as to whether we’re going to experience fear, or excitement. I tell you how to do this in a future article that deals with another of my rules: “Focus on what you want to have happen.”

You’ve got to step out of your comfort zone.
The important thing to remember here is that if you’re going to accomplish anything of any significance, you absolutely have to take a chance. That means that you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone. The first step is to get it through your head that you absolutely, positively can do it.