I feel fear quite strongly. Its not as though I have the absence of fear. But there are times when something i... — Elon Musk

I feel fear quite strongly. Its not as though I have the absence of fear. But there are times when something is important enough, you believe in it enough, that you do it in spite of fear.

Author: Elon Musk

Insight: This cuts against a common myth we tell ourselves—that confident or successful people don't actually feel scared. They do. The difference isn't the absence of fear; it's that they've learned to treat fear as information rather than a stop sign. Fear tells you something matters, not that you shouldn't try it. The tricky part is distinguishing between useful fear and paralyzing fear. Real courage isn't fearlessness. It's that moment when you're genuinely anxious about something—worried you'll fail, look foolish, lose money, disappoint people—and you do it anyway because the alternative (not trying, staying small, abandoning what you believe in) feels worse. Most people experience this in relationships, careers, or creative work. You're terrified to have the conversation, start the thing, or make the change. Then something clicks: the cost of inaction becomes higher than the cost of fear. The insight isn't that fear disappears with success. It's that belief has to get bigger than fear first. You can't think or motivate your way past it. Belief does the heavy lifting.

Source: Y Combinator Elon Musk : How to Build the Future (Sep 2016)