Gee, thanks! Sounds like a good thing doesn’t it? It’s not. It’s like if you were going to buy something you really wanted but then right as you’re about to pay, someone steals your cash.

The reason is fear, and how the ego holds us back is through the struggle against being exposed to fear. The E-G-O is feisty and it claims that it simply doesn't want you to get hurt.

The thing that holds us back the most in this world, is ourselves—at least what we think is us—the EGO!

The fear of rejection, embarrassment, being offended, etc. wouldn’t exist. With those fears gone, what’s left to stop you? A whole lot of nothing. That’s what.

Another place you can find it is when you feel embarrassed in front of others. Maybe someone yelled at you in front of people and your dignity was spilled onto the floor. [Loud speaker: “We have a dignity spill in aisle 4. Bring the mops!”]

If you want to experiment for yourself, here’s something you can try: Go argue politics, or which is the true religion, or even which shoe brand is the best with someone who has a different opinion about it than you. Wear a helmet ‘cuz there’s gonna be blood!

When you get offended, that’s your ego. When someone criticizes you or your work, and you take it personally, say “Hi” to your ego.

Your ego is that thing that tickles your solar plexus when someone “attacks” you or your beliefs.

But if you can face that, you can face just about anything.

Those are real possibilities when you step in front of an audience because it’s the purest form of vulnerability. You're “naked” and up against a monsoon of people looking back at your junk. Scary, I know.

The fear of public speaking is all of our greatest fears rolled into a single experience. The fear of failing, making mistakes, looking foolish, criticism, being judged…

It doesn’t truly die. It’s always there lying in wait. Waiting for you to forget about it and think you’ve got it beat.

It’s like when you hear the advice to “stay grounded, don’t let it go to your head.” It’s good advice to apply to the ego.

If you forget about it, you’ll revert back to the default, which is to be on constant guard. Guarding and protecting yourself from embarrassment (in whichever form you fear most).

Perfectionists (myself a recovering one) fear making mistakes. It’s not the mistake itself that’s scary, it’s that others will be there to witness them. Try giving a “perfect” speech. It doesn’t exist. Just another reason why public speaking has been such an effective tool for me in battling the ego. I have to put those thoughts of fear aside and be vulnerable. There’s no getting around it short of pretending to be someone I’m not, which is like hiding behind something much larger than a lectern.

Public speaking opportunities are where the battles will be fought. It’s up to you how many battles there will be. For many it’s just one...in which the ego dominates. For others, the war wages on—and rightfully so.

Ultimately, you can win the war. But you can’t kill the enemy. You can only force it into hiding.

At that point it chooses guerrilla warfare instead of direct conflict. It hits you hard and fast, and when you’re least expecting it. Especially when you think you’ve won. Instead, all that was won is a paid vacation for your ego. It merely recharges so it can come back stronger to infect your mind just as it did before.