Hi, I’m Joe Serio. I’m a professional speaker, trainer, author, amateur musician, former CIA agent and investigator, and host of leadership programs and retreats.

I grew up like many people, afraid of other people’s opinions, afraid to live my dreams, and afraid to be myself. I was petrified of most things, including learning to play music, public speaking, and writing books. I obeyed my parents, played by the rules, and lived my life the way I thought other people expected me to.

I looked at other people, successful people, who were getting what they wanted, wondering why that couldn’t be me. I thought they were fearless. Looking from the outside, it seemed that way. But I learned important lessons along the way:

Lesson: Don’t compare your insides to other people’s outsides!

Lesson: You don’t have to get rid of your fear, just understand it and manage it better.

Lesson: People are thinking about you far less than you think they’re thinking about you.

These lessons liberated me from the life of paralyzing fear that I was living. You and I have waited too long to get what we want. Those days are over! Overcoming Fear gives you the way forward.

The format of the book is unique. Each lesson goes straight to the heart of the topic with as little fluff as possible, giving you high-powered, practical steps to understand your own fear and an easy process for managing it. You’re busy, and want to get the biggest benefit in the shortest amount of time.

We run around talking about how stressed we are and the amount of anxiety we experience. Underneath most of it is fear. The fear that we can’t, that we won’t be good enough, that we won’t get the task done on time, that people will judge us, reject us, and leave us. Those are powerful forces that you can manage and live the life you want.

As I managed my fear better, I could see more clearly the way ahead and take time to understand the rules of whatever game I was playing. It made learning foreign languages easier, I could learn more quickly how to play music, and I ended up writing far more books than I ever thought possible. Speaking foreign languages, playing music, and writing books were my dreams growing up. But I was too afraid to actually do it.

I know how it feels to wake up one day at 35, 45, 55, and feel like you missed the boat. Life goes by so quickly. Now you may feel like it’s too late to start. I didn’t write my first book or begin to play guitar until my 40s. I didn’t get my company going until my 50s. And I didn’t write my first children’s book until my 60s.

I faced my most basic fears and moved into a life that I never dreamed of living. I now teach people across the country how to step out of fear and into their real selves.