What looked safe was not safe. What looked hard and unsafe was probably safer. Anyway, safe was somewhere else in the world.
Interpretation
Safety can often be an illusion, while what seems daunting may actually offer protection.
David Halberstam's quote suggests that our perceptions of safety and danger can be misleading. What appears to be secure might actually conceal risks, while situations that seem challenging could provide unexpected security. The idea that true safety is found elsewhere invites us to rethink our approach to risk and comfort in our lives.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about taking risks in entrepreneurship.
Fear was the terrible secret of the battlefield and could afflict the brave as well as the timid. Worse it was contagious, and could destroy a unit before a battle even began. Because of that, commanders were first and foremost in the fear suppression business.
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We've taken the world apart but we have no idea what to do with the pieces.
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