“I define anxiety as experiencing failure in advance…and if you have anxiety about initiating a project, then of course you will associate risk with failure.”

“Anxiety is experiencing failure in advance.”

“The challenge with being an initiator of projects is that you are never, ever done.”

“When you work under the cloud of anxiety, the best strategy is to play it safe, because if (when!) it fails, you’ll be blameless.”

“If failure is not an option, then neither is success.”

“Initiative and starting are about neither of these. They are about “let’s see” and “try.” If there’s no clear right answer, perhaps the thing you ought to do is something new. Something new is often the right path when the world is complicated.”

“This is an addictive pastime. You take no real risk, touch the world, and it responds. Repeat.”