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 →As 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
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
There is only one reason for an individual to side-step to the useless side : the fear of a defeat on the useful side.
There is nothing about which I am more anxious than my country, and for its sake I am willing to die ten deaths, if that be possible.
As long as you do not feel the serenity in the body, in each and every joint, there is no chance for emancipation. You are in bondage. So while you are sweating and aching, let your heart be light and let it fill your body with gladness. You are not only becoming free, but you are also being free. What is not to be glad about? The pain is temporary. The freedom is permanent.
The true courage of civilized nations is readiness for sacrifice in the service of the state, so that the individual counts as only one amongst many. The important thing here is not personal mettle but aligning oneself with the universal.
I discovered that wearing the veil is not suitable for a woman who wants to work in activism and the public domain. People need to see you, to associate and relate to you. It is not stated in my religion to wear the veil; it is a traditional practice, so I took it off.