I'm Afraid But I'm Confident

“I'm scared to death. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of everything. I'm afraid of losing. I'm afraid of being humiliated. But I'm confident. The closer I get to the ring the more confident I get. The closer, the more confident. All during training I've been afraid of this man. I think this man might be capable of beating me. I've dreamed of him beating me. For that I've always stayed afraid of him. The closer I get to the ring the more confident I get. Once I'm in the ring I'm a god.” -Mike Tyson

Fear is a taboo thing. Admitting you’re afraid is even more taboo. We equate fear with paralysis. To be afraid is to be helpless. So we do our best to lie to ourselves or push fear to the back of our mind.

What a missed opportunity.

One of the greatest heavyweight fighters ever knew this. Tyson saw fear as the great motivator. While being the champion may have been a nice daydream, fear is what got him out of bed. Fear is what forced him to push his limits in the gym. Fear drove him to prepare, and his preparation bred a god-like confidence.

The last three books I read…
The Bomber Mafia
Impact Players
Essentialism