Quotes about Fear

Leaders are not always the first to see an opportunity. They are simply the first to seize an opportunity. It is the person who seizes the opportunity who emerges as the leader. But fear has kept many would-be leaders on the sidelines, while good opportunities paraded by. They didn't lack insight. They lacked courage.

You can't lead without taking risk. You won't take risk without courage. Courage is essential to leadership.

Wherever there is fear, there is opportunity. Wherever there is great fear, there is great opportunity.

Unfortunately, fear often disguises itself behind the mask of care. Fearful people often excuse their fear as caution. "I'm not afraid. I'm just being cautious." "You can't rush these things, you know.

Because of the pressure to fit in and to please, we can find ourselves making decisions that don't align with our highest good. When we make decisions from the fear of being judged and/or rejected, we doom ourselves to this people-pleasing brand of decision-making.

Beginning empty-handed and alone frightens the best of men. It also speaks volumes of just how confident they are that God is with them.

Doing it anyway" is really the only way to ensure that fear doesn't rob you of an opportunity. "Doing it anyway" is the essence of courage. Courage is the willingness to move in a direction in spite of the emotions and thoughts that bid you to do otherwise.

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage assumes fear. If we had waited for our fear to subside before we took that first plunge off of the high-dive, we would all still be standing there waiting. We just jumped anyway. Courage is the willingness to strap on your fear and move ahead.

An unwillingness to accept risk has swamped more leaders than anything I can think of.

Seasoned leaders rarely regret having taken risks. Even the risks that didn't pay off directly are viewed as a necessary part of the journey. A leader's regrets generally revolve around missed opportunities, not risks taken. Many of those missed opportunities would not have been missed had they been willing to push through their fear and embrace what could be. Fear, not a lack of good ideas, is usually what keeps a man or woman standing on the sidelines.

Here's a scary thought: What if God called you to give beyond your comfort level? Would you be afraid? Would you try to explain it away or dismiss it as impractical? And in the process, would you miss out on a harvest opportunity for which God had explicitly prospered you in the first place?

If we can ever get the hang of life as God intended, then it becomes an adventure to be lived instead of an unknown to be feared.