Dare To Fail - Again

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly" - Robert F. Kennedy

I have met a great number of "successful" people in my life. And, by "successful" I don't necessarily mean "wealthy" (Unfortunately, the word success is too often tied only to financial success). However, I sincerely believe that every successful person I have met has one thing in common - they do not fear risk.

The fear of risk is perhaps the single greatest factor that separates the "doers" from the "followers." Followers fear risk. They get very uncomfortable with change - they do not like the unknown (Not that there is anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld would say). On the other hand, most successful people that I have met can not bear to follow - they must go first. They are not afraid to fail because they have the confidence that if they fail - even if they fail to great embarrassment and humiliation - they know they have it within themselves to try again and ultimately win. This trait is not one of arrogance at all, but rather it is based on a kind of inner-strength that may have been there since birth. Often, the battles that these kinds of people fight is with themselves - not external forces (Take it from me, there have been many times that I wanted to punch myself in the face).

I have always been curious if people can overcome their fear of risk. And what happens if they push past this fear and then fail. Will they have the ability to pick themselves up off the ground and try again or will they be so disappointed that they will return to their former self - never to take chances again?

More than anything, I hate to see people give up. As Lance Armstrong said, "pain is temporary but quitting lasts forever."