Don't let fear be your guide

Yesterday I listened to an audiobook called The Instant Millionaire: A Tale of Wisdom and Wealth by Mark Fisher. It was a nice little story about a man who's unhappy with his life and met a self-made millionaire who teaches him the secret of becoming wealthy in all aspects of his life. It's a beautiful story full of great simple insights that really resonated with with. I'm probably going to listen to it again because it reminded me of various lessons I've been picking up along my journey so far, but I haven't necessarily applied all of them. 

One quote that particularly struck me wast the one shown above : "Don't let fear be your guide". How many of us make decisions or avoid making decision out of fear? I know I still do it and too often. The silly thing is that a lot of those fears are silly : fear of the unknown, fear of getting hurt, fear of hurting other people, fear of feeling judged, fear of feeling embarrassed, fear of making a mistake. The longer they stay in my mind, the bigger the can become if I don't take a step back and look at these fear honestly with a certain amount of detachment. Most of them are not life threatening. They're just uncomfortable. And uncomfortable is where growth happens. So it was a nice little reminder for me to get uncomfortable in order to keep growing. Silly things like going to an event even though I don't know anyone. What's the worst that can happen? Nothing really, but I'll learn and experience something new.

Another beautiful quote that I really connected with was this one :  

Always remember that at a certain heights there are no clouds. If there are clouds in your life it’s because your soul hasn’t soared high enough. Many people make the mistake of fighting against their problems. What you must do is raise yourself above those problems once and for all. The heart of the rose will lead you above the clouds where the sky is forever clear.

Mark Fisher, The Instant Millionaire: A Tale of Wisdom and Wealth

This quote is freakishly aligned with my thoughts regarding my art project on clouds this year and almost reenergized my determination to pursue my call to paint clouds.