If anyone on the verge of action should judge himself according to the outcome, he would never begin. — Dale Carnegie

If anyone on the verge of action should judge himself according to the outcome, he would never begin.

Author: Dale Carnegie

Insight: Most of us are paralyzed by the gap between where we are and where we might end up. We imagine all the ways a decision could backfire, and we use that imagined future failure as permission to stay put. But here's what's quietly destructive about that logic: we're judging the present moment by a result that hasn't happened yet. We're treating speculation like fact. The real insight isn't that outcomes don't matter—they obviously do. It's that if you wait until you can guarantee success before you start, you'll spend your whole life waiting. Every meaningful thing you've ever done—taking a job, ending a relationship, learning something new, apologizing to someone—required you to act despite uncertainty. You had to begin anyway. This doesn't mean being reckless. It means recognizing that your job right now isn't to predict the future perfectly. Your job is to make the best decision with what you actually know, then take the next step. The outcome will inform what comes next. That's how people who accomplish things operate. They don't wait for a guarantee. They move.

Source: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, p. 202, 1948