Fear is pervasive, and it is the major paradigm that holds most back in life: fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of rejection, and so on. Fear cannot be escaped. It is human. But what every person has the power to do, whether they believe it or not, is to evaluate their fear and choose not to let it alter their course. It takes emotional intelligence, mindfulness, to catch fear and see it for what it really is. Ultimately fear makes most people give up, usually in the form of a perceived “failure.”

The bottom line is this: never give up. When you give up, that’s when your creativity ends. Do not give up to fear–which, as it is said, kills more dreams than failure ever will. No, you will take risks and be bold. If you win, you win. If you lose, you will still be wiser. Try new things and take advantage of the opportunities that come your way, because every risk, every dare, is a victory over fear.

In the end, there’s relatively no risk when you go after a dream. But there’s a tremendous amount of risk to playing it safe.