From Fear to Flight: Overcoming Deep Seeded Fears to Achieve Amazing Success with Patrick Sweeney
Thu Jan 15 2026
What if the fear holding you back was actually the fuel for your biggest breakthroughs?
In this episode of Unmasked: The CEO Files, Alan McLaren sits down with Patrick Sweeney - Wall Street Journal bestselling author, investor, entrepreneur, world-record athlete and globally recognized fear expert known as “The Fear Guru”.
Patrick shares his incredible journey from battling rare leukemia and crippling fear, to building and exiting multiple companies, investing in dozens more and helping hundreds of leaders transform fear into peak performance.
He also breaks down the foundational ideas behind his upcoming book, The Founder’s Creed, including the belief-based BOODA Doctrine™ which is a framework designed to help founders, CEOs and executive teams scale with clarity, conviction, and shared leadership signal.
Whether you’re leading a startup, navigating hyper-growth or asking how to turn fear into action, this episode delivers insight and tools you can use today.
In this episode, we explore:
➡️ Why fear isn’t your enemy and how courageous leaders use it as fuel
➡️ Patrick’s life-altering experience with leukemia and how it reshaped his approach to leadership and risk
➡️ The BOODA Doctrine™ as the core driver of company culture and operational success
➡️ How shared belief maps and leadership alignment can turn chaos into cadence
➡️ Advice for CEOs facing fear, uncertainty and imposter syndrome in personal or professional life
🔗 Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefearguru/
🔗 To learn more about Patrick's book visit: https://www.thefounderscreed.com/
____
More
What if the fear holding you back was actually the fuel for your biggest breakthroughs? In this episode of Unmasked: The CEO Files, Alan McLaren sits down with Patrick Sweeney - Wall Street Journal bestselling author, investor, entrepreneur, world-record athlete and globally recognized fear expert known as “The Fear Guru”. Patrick shares his incredible journey from battling rare leukemia and crippling fear, to building and exiting multiple companies, investing in dozens more and helping hundreds of leaders transform fear into peak performance. He also breaks down the foundational ideas behind his upcoming book, The Founder’s Creed, including the belief-based BOODA Doctrine™ which is a framework designed to help founders, CEOs and executive teams scale with clarity, conviction, and shared leadership signal. Whether you’re leading a startup, navigating hyper-growth or asking how to turn fear into action, this episode delivers insight and tools you can use today. In this episode, we explore: ➡️ Why fear isn’t your enemy and how courageous leaders use it as fuel ➡️ Patrick’s life-altering experience with leukemia and how it reshaped his approach to leadership and risk ➡️ The BOODA Doctrine™ as the core driver of company culture and operational success ➡️ How shared belief maps and leadership alignment can turn chaos into cadence ➡️ Advice for CEOs facing fear, uncertainty and imposter syndrome in personal or professional life 🔗 Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefearguru/ 🔗 To learn more about Patrick's book visit: https://www.thefounderscreed.com/ ____