The Fear Of Success Is Much More Powerful Than The Fear Of Failure...

“The fear of success is much more powerful than the fear of failure. That is why there are so many more people prone to become failures than successes.

Each one of us is driven to a certain extent by fear - fear to rise, fear to fall, fear that we will remain in the same place.

So many of us think that we want to be rich, that we want to be famous, that we want to accomplish great deeds, but often these feelings are just idle ruminations. Most of the things we think we want come at the price of leaving behind our familiar life and venturing into the unknown. Every time we accomplish something and move ahead, we have to exchange the known conditions of our life for uncertainty and unfamiliarity.

Even though most people think they are trying to succeed, they are simply going through the motions. The last thing in the world that they want is to get off the familiar treadmill and actually get somewhere.

Before we can succeed, we must clearly understand that success means change and the risk of failure. The failure of those who do not try anything great is commonplace and comfortably private. The failure of those who attempt extraordinary accomplishments is much more public and generally accompanied by sighs of satisfaction from ordinary failures.

When we don't pay our bills, a computer somewhere writes us a nasty letter. When Donald Trump doesn't pay his bills, it makes the six o'clock news.

Success also requires the courage to risk disapproval. All independent thought, new ideas, or endeavors beyond the common measure are greeted with disapproval ranging from skepticism and ridicule to violent outrage. To persevere in anything exceptional requires inner strength and the unshakable conviction that you are right.” 

– Chin-Ning Chu, in her bestselling classic Thick Face, Black Heart