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We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure.
John W. Gardner
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Fear of failure can prevent us from pursuing our goals and lead to missed opportunities.

John W. Gardner's quote emphasizes that the fear of failure often costs us more than failure itself. This fear can hold us back from taking risks, trying new things, and ultimately achieving our potential. By allowing fear to dictate our choices, we may be sacrificing growth and success in pursuit of comfort and safety.

Themes

FearFailureMotivationSuccessRisk

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech to encourage young entrepreneurs to take risks.

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Paralysis of leadership is due in part to the unseen grip of the special interests.
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We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure-all your life.
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I think that all human systems require continuous renewal. They rigidify. They get stuff in the joints. They forget what they cared about. The forces against it are nostalgia and the enormous appeal of having things the way they always have been, appeals to a supposedly happy past. But we've got to move on.
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