George Michael Was Right. If You Want to Succeed, You Gotta Have Faith

The following is adapted from Responsibility Rebellion.

In 1986, big-haired, smooth, and handsome eighties pop idol George Michael came to the realization that he had been living inauthentically, so the following year, George returned with a whole new look and rock-and-roll pastiche with his debut solo album, Faith. T

For those who aren’t religious in any way, faith can seem like an uncomfortable word. Its significance is deeply entrenched in religious meaning. However, at its core, faith means having complete trust and confidence in somebody or something. And George Michael was right. If you want to be successful—in your work, relationships, or life in general—you gotta have faith. 

Still, something might be holding you back from taking George Michael's advice, and if I had to guess, I'd say it's fear. Stop worrying about whether you’re “good enough” and learn to have faith in yourself and your future. That’s the most powerful step you can take toward achieving your dreams.  

Fear Is Holding You Back

No one wants to live an insignificant life where they waste away in a dead-end job that means nothing to them. Be honest, you’d much rather live an exciting life full of enjoyment, passion, and fulfillment. So, what’s holding you back? 

One thing and one thing only—fear. Fear keeps people trapped in the land of worst-case scenarios, “what if”s and “I’m not good enough”s. Fear is the result of not having faith. 

People with low self-esteem and low confidence have little to no faith in their ability to turn their lives around; they have no faith in their potential or their prospects. Their lack of faith makes them pessimistic and afraid and, therefore, more inclined to live a conservative and reserved life.

It’s not an overstatement to say that most people are crippled by fear. You’d be surprised how often people limit themselves to safe spaces, things, people, habits, environments, careers, and challenges. They choose comfort over freedom because their fear of the future outweighs their faith in themselves. For years of my life, I chose job security, social groups, people-pleasing, and social climbing in order to get ahead in life. I found out the hard way that compromising my own integrity and standards to fit in with other people was imprisoning rather than liberating. 

Living with faith is the polar opposite of living with fear. When you have faith, you stop living with an expectation of the worst-case scenario. You react out of peace rather than anxiety, panic, stress, tension, and chaos. 

George Michael named his album Faith because he knew that everything would turn out alright, notwithstanding trials and tribulations, because he had enough faith in himself to persevere. His faith was proactive. He said, “I’m not going to stay complacent; I’m going to get out there and do something that matters!” 

That kind of faith is the bedrock of true success. 

The Importance of Taking Risks

Acting in faith is a two-part equation. When you have faith that you can handle hardships, you naturally develop another important quality: the willingness to take risks. Risk and faith are symbiotic. They cannot exist effectively without each other. Risk is required for change to take place, and faith is necessary to free yourself from being controlled by fear. 

A single incident in my early twenties made me aware of the dichotomy between faith and fear. I was living in Australia at the time, backpacking up the West Coast to Darwin. One day, one of my companions announced that he’d bagged us a boat with a glass bottom. He’d heard that the giant turtles had recently had their babies and thought it would be the perfect opportunity for all of us to sail out and go scuba diving to try to catch a glimpse of them. 

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we packed our wetsuits and dashed out to sea in the early hours. I was swimming in blissful tranquility until, suddenly, I realized there was a big bull shark nearby. I felt utterly powerless, but strangely, that powerlessness gave me peace. Why should I worry about something I couldn’t control? 

My panic faded, and my friends and I calmly discussed the situation. We had a 50 percent chance of getting attacked, so the question was: did we want to risk seeing the turtles or not? Those turtles could potentially be the last things we saw, but would we feel more at peace with completing our mission? We decided that we’d come this far already and we might as well try to see them. 

They were utterly beautiful and worth every ounce of fear we felt that day. And, as you’ve probably deduced, we made it back to the boat just fine. 

Living in faith involves taking risks and accepting that you cannot control the things that happen to you. All you’re able to control in life is how you respond to what happens to you. When you respond from a place of faith, not fear, you are always making the right decision. 

To some people, this may seem naive, but I would argue that it’s far more effective than living a life dominated by anxiety, fear, and worry. I’ve never met a successful person with the mantra, “You gotta worry, worry, worry.”

Taking a Leap of Faith 

When your emotional and mental well-being are heavily influenced by unmonitored thoughts and external circumstances, you immediately become disempowered and out of control. Proactive and confident people always choose to rise above their circumstances by responding to them in a way which encourages and promotes personal development and growth. 

George Michael knew what he was talking about, which is why “Faith” still reverberates through showers, cars, and karaoke halls worldwide. Success and faith go hand-in-hand. You have to take risks, act boldly, and have unshakeable confidence if you want to achieve your goals. So, take your first leap of faith today and keep on leaping. 

For more advice on faith, you can find Responsibility Rebellion on Amazon.

Kain Ramsay is the top-ranked psychology and personal growth instructor at Udemy and founder of Achology.com, an academy devoted to teaching modern methods and principles of applied psychology. Known for his trademark teaching style, Kain delivers highly sought-after programs that include Mindfulness, Life Coaching, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. In 2018, he partnered with world-renowned author Gerard Egan to produce an online adaptation of Egan’s international bestselling book, The Skilled Helper.