… you can't be the leader you want and ought to be.  Or more than a million.

Here's my personal short list:

• I'm not powerful enough
• I'm not wise enough
• I'm not rich enough
• I'm not patient enough
• I'm not smart enough
• I'm not artistic enough
• I'm not stubborn enough

For me, and I'd wager for you, this is all bunk.  We're not born ready, and if we can be honest with ourselves, we'll likely never achieve a state of true mastery of anything.  But life is about getting on with things, because life, after all, is finite.  A lot of rewards go to those willing to embrace mediocrity and get on with life.  But fear has a way of getting in the way.  By acknowledging the fear we feel, and not ignoring it, but choosing to act because of it, we give ourselves — and those around us — a gift of inestimable value.

Because, for me, when I'm telling myself all of those "I'm not…" phrases from the list above, that's when I know I'm really on to something.  The fear I feel is a signal that what I'm contemplating not doing is really worth doing.  And to not take the risk of action is to shirk the responsibility of acting when I'm able to act, of delaying or nulifying the value of the gifts I can bring to world.  We owe it to ourselves — and to each other — to go for it, to try to help someone, to make something, to move things forward whenever we can.