Fear No One

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“And the Lord… doth go before thee, he will be with thee, he will not fail thee or forsake thee. Fear not, nor be dismayed.”
-- Deuteronomy 31:8


"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
-- Goethe
... but I first heard it quoted in the Cameron Crowe film "Almost Famous" (2000)


"Fortes fortuna adiuvat" ("Fortune favors the bold")

-- Virgil, the Aeneid


This got me thinking all about FEAR, in general.
Everyone is afraid of SOMEthing.


"I read that Speaking in front of a crowd is the number one fear of the average person. Number two... is death. Death is number two?! That means to the average person, if you have to be at a funeral, you would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy."
-- Jerry Seinfeld



I spend my time with a lot of rabbis-in-training, and like all people practicing for anything... they are nervous.
That's what practicing means. It means you're not a pro yet.

Webster's dictionary defines "practice" as--

"repeated performance/exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency."

Meaning, the person has not acquired proficiency yet. We're all practicing SOMETHING in our lives, even if it's just... y'know, living!

Now, more quotations!



One of Rabbi Israel Salanter’s disciples told him, “Rebbe, I am afraid that I might give an incorrect ruling.”
“Who then should become a rabbi?” asked Rabbi Israel. “One who is not afraid of ruling incorrectly?”

-- Shmuel Himelstein, A Touch of Wisdom, A Touch of Wit


"To be honest with you, all my life I’ve been in a battle to overcome my fears. I’ve had to take that chance with everything I’ve done, from riding my bike down that driveway...to every [thing] I ever tried...."
-- Queen Latifah

"I always feel pressure. If you don't feel nervous, that means you don't care about how you play. I care about how I perform. I've always said the day I'm not nervous playing is the day I quit. "
--Tiger Woods

Fear is everywhere! They say you should do one thing each day that scares you.

What are you going to do today?



and finally,

The Wisdom of Johnny Depp:

I think… it is good to feel the fear of failing miserably. I think you should take that risk. Fear is a necessary ingredient in everything I do.
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“I got scissors for hands!”

-- also Johnny Depp (probably)

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