Be Fearless summary

There’s a good chance that at some point you’ve been frustrated by something only to have someone shrug and tell you, “That’s just the way it is!”

A lot of people assume things are the way they are and there’s no use trying to change anything. But then there are the fearless people who defy these common assumptions and show us that things can change for the better.

You probably like being in your comfort zone, right? Who doesn’t? But while you may be able to do good work in that zone, the reality is that you’re not going to do amazing, game-changing work while you’re comfortable. To change the world, you need to get uncomfortable. Which brings us to the second principle of being fearless: be bold and take chances.

Imagine the progress that would – or rather wouldn’t – have been made if people only strove for comfort. Or how about all the exciting things we wouldn’t accomplish if we only took on the jobs we’re completely confident we’ll manage. It doesn’t sound very exciting at all, does it?

It’s important to know about trailblazers like Eliza Scidmore, because the work they did and the doors they opened can make it easier for you today.

While changing the world is never going to be a walk in the park, it doesn’t mean that you have to start from scratch and reinvent the wheel every time. Even an inventor like Thomas Edison was well aware of the importance of using what came before.

Most people won’t throw a celebration when a project has failed and yet you might be surprised to find how many of the big game-changers see failure as a good thing. They know that behind every success story you’ll find failures, because they’re often an integral part of the process. That’s why the third principle of being fearless is to make your failures matter.

For starters, when you have a healthy attitude toward failure, you can learn a lot. As IBM founder Thomas J. Watson once advised, if you really want to succeed, you should double your rate of failure.

Every year, the author looks forward to getting in an RV with her husband and travelling around the US. This allows her to see some beautiful scenery, but, crucially, she gets to meet people she wouldn’t normally come across. In other words, these road trips ensure that she gets outside of her bubble, the fourth principle of being fearless.

First of all, looking beyond your bubble is critical to understanding what’s truly going on in the world and getting rid of any blind spots or biases you may have.

The final principle of being fearless is to let urgency overpower your fear.

Everyone is built to experience fear as a way of protecting us from danger, but it can also get in the way of taking chances, being bold and doing what it takes to make amazing things happen. One way of bypassing this fear is to let urgency take over and give into the kind of instinctual response that kicks in during times of emergency or crisis.

You may have been given some well-meaning advice by someone who warned you against being impulsive, telling you to “Make sure you think things through!”

The problem is, the more time you spend thinking things through, the more likely it is you’ll end up paralyzed by uncertainty, confusion and exhaustion. In short, any great idea can seem dubious if you spend enough time picking it apart.