In 2014, Michelle Poler moved to New York City for graduate school and quickly found herself overwhelmed by anxiety. Instead of trying to control every fearful thought, she made a bold choice to do the opposite. She decided to follow her fear and see where it led.
That decision became the start of 100 Days Without Fear, a blog and personal challenge where Poler confronted one fear every day for 100 days. Some were small, like reading negative comments on her blog or going camping. Others were huge, including skydiving and giving a TEDx Talk.
That TEDx Talk, once one of her biggest fears, became a turning point. It launched Poler into a successful career as a public speaker, traveling the world to inspire people at schools, organizations, and companies.
Over the past decade, the movement Poler started has reached more than 70 million people worldwide. She also released a book called Hello Fears, encouraging others to step outside their comfort zones and live more fully.
After completing her challenge, Poler shared a powerful realization during her 2015 TEDx Talk. She said that not once was the actual fear worse than what she imagined beforehand. While she does not believe in living without fear, she believes people can learn to work with it and use it to open doors they never thought possible.
What began as a deeply personal experiment has grown into a reminder felt around the world that courage often starts with one small, scary step.
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