Gambling can turn into a dangerous two-way street when you least expect it. Weird things happen suddenly, and your life can go all to pieces.
I understand that fear is my friend, but not always. Never turn your back on Fear. It should always be in front of you, like a thing that might have to be killed. My father taught me that, along with a few other things that have kept my life interesting.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fear can serve as a valuable lesson and motivator, but it must be faced, not ignored.
In this quote, Hunter S. Thompson expresses the complex relationship he has with fear. He acknowledges that fear can be a friend, as it provides awareness and caution, but it should not control one's actions. Instead of turning away from fear, he suggests confronting it directly, as it can also act as a powerful motivator for growth and change. This lesson, taught by his father, emphasizes the importance of understanding and engaging with fear rather than allowing it to dictate one's life.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about overcoming challenges, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of confronting fear.
More from Hunter S. Thompson
All quotes βAs things stand now, I am going to be a writer. I'm not sure that I'm going to be a good one or even a self-supporting one, but until the dark thumb of fate presses me to the dust and says 'you are nothing', I will be a writer.
Fiction is a bridge to the truth that journalism can't reach.
There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge.
Objective journalism is one of the main reasons that American politics has been allowed to be so corrupt for so long.
When you write for a living and you can't do anything else, you know that sooner or later that the deadline is going to come screaming down on you like a goddamn banshee. There's no avoiding it...So one day you just don't appear at the El Adobe bar anymore; you shut the door, paint the windows black, rent an electric typewriter and become the monster you always were - the writer.
Similar quotes
Cowards falter, but danger is often overcome by those who nobly dare.
It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.
It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life. I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally non-violent struggle for justice.
Rosa Parks showed us all that one little person can make a whole bunch of noise without so much as a whisper. She showed the world that the color of your skin shouldn't determine what part of the bus you sit in... as you ride through life.
As citizens, we all have an obligation to intervene and become involved - it's the citizen who changes things.
As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal.