By Rusty Wright

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang leads the world’s most valuable company, worth $5 trillion. He recently
admitted that anxiety, fear, and overwork consume him. Can leaders like him – or anyone – be
successful without drowning in emotional turmoil?

Near bankruptcy frightened Huang, launching his endless race to evade failure. He told The Joe Rogan
Experience, “The phrase ’30 days from going out of business,’ I’ve used for 33 years. …The feeling doesn’t change,” he continued. “The sense of vulnerability, the sense of uncertainty, the sense of insecurity—it doesn’t leave you.” Huang works seven days a week: “Every day. Every single day. Not one day missed. Including Thanksgiving, Christmas.”

Always anxious

“I have a greater drive from not wanting to fail than the drive of wanting to succeed,” he confessed, saying he’s “always in a state of anxiety.”

Dedication to worthwhile projects is, of course, admirable. But anxiety and fear of failure can be
emotionally debilitating and harm important relationships. Ever felt your spouse or close friend was
married to their work? Does success require 24/7 anxiety-driven effort? Where’s the balance?

Certainly, sharing the load with responsible teammates can help. So can recognizing that no one can
control all outcomes. But even superb, realistic delegators experience anxiety. Anxiety disorders are
currently pervasive worldwide.

Consider one expert psychologist’s anxiety solution and how he discovered it.

A noted psychologist and anxiety

My third year in university, I wrote a paper for an Abnormal Psychology course discussing a solution to
anxiety. For many years, anxiety and fear of failure had driven me, but some students had helped me
understand that spiritual faith could bring peace of mind. My paper discussed both psychological and
biblical perspectives.

I sent the paper to our textbook author, UCLA professor Dr. James C. Coleman, who responded warmly
that he would share the paper with his students and requested permission to quote from it in his textbook revision.

I picked my jaw up off the floor and replied, “By all means.” Actually, I first sent a copy of his letter home to my parents so they would see their son had not gone overboard with his campus Christian involvement. (They were beginning to wonder.)

Malibu conversation

That summer, I visited Dr. Coleman’s Malibu home. As we sat in his back yard overlooking the Pacific, he confided, “I don’t have this peace of mind that you do, and I don’t have your relationship with God.” I showed him a simple four point outline of Jesus’ teachings, based on perhaps his most famous statement:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

After a few questions, this renowned professor trusted in Jesus’ death for his flaws. He said this was the clearest explanation of the Christian message he had ever seen. He had heard it many times – his father was a minister – but he had never understood how to open his life to God. He took literature to share with his students. Later, by phone, he remarked, “Now, as I look out over the ocean and see the setting sun, I really believe I’m a part of all this. Before I didn’t, but now I do.”

An abnormal psychology textbook “case”

His next textbook edition contained a short portion on “Religion and Psychotherapy” with part of my faith story. I began telling psychology professors I was a case in this abnormal psychology textbook. Many invited me to speak, jumpstarting what became a global speaking, writing and media career.

Over the years, Dr. Coleman encouraged me to share anything he had spoken or written to me, since people needed to understand that life involved more than just the physical realm.

So how might this relate to Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and other anxiety consumed people? I would politely suggest they consider making the choice Dr. Coleman made. As one early believer advised, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.”

Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com