If I had to choose one quote that I live by, it would be this: "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." That's actually just the ending of a bigger quote from Helen Keller.
The whole thing goes like this: "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."
But it's hard to choose just one favorite, because there are several quotes I love. However, I suppose there is a clear theme to those that are important in my life.
For example, Eleanor Roosevelt is credited with saying: "Do at least one thing every day that scares you." And of course her husband famously said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." One has to imagine that they shared an adventuresome and fulfilling marriage!
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Always do what you are afraid to do." That was good, but in another place he said it even better: "He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.”
The secret of life he's referring to is lurking there in all of these quotes, but is revealed to the world in this quote from Marilyn Ferguson: “Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.”
In the end, those are your options in life: fear or freedom. Every time you experience fear, you are faced with that choice. You can only experience freedom when you conquer fear. Which is why, as Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."
