"Only with absolute fearlessness can we slay the dragons of mediocrity that invade our gardens."

I really like that quote. It's from George Lois, a legendary figure in the world of 20th century advertising. George knew fearlessness and he also knew mediocrity, but we're not talking about George tonight, as much as I admire the man. Let's talk about fearlessness.

(As a quick aside, I also love the artist who did the painting of the plunging lemmings -above- and the cool lamb on last night's post. Her name is Barbara Schreiber).

It seems to me that so many people are content not to take risks, especially once they migrate into their 30s. You live with your circumstances and you stay in the proverbial bed that you've made. It only gets worse when you land in your 40s and I have to imagine, even more difficult thereafter. Where did the mad fearlessness that was such a hallmark of our 20s go? What makes a decade of age different? Should one just settle for their lot and leave it at that? I don't think so, but it's easier said than done some days.

To be fearful means you have been shaken from your comforts. It means you are being challenged. It means facing a characteristic in yourself that you perceive is lacking and that you may have to fake initially but you could end up enhancing. What do you do? Take it by the horns, of course. To do anything less would deny yourself the breadth of what your life can be.

I abhor the notion of fear and I try to tackle it head on whenever it rears its head.

Case in point: I have been selected to participate in a business leaders work group by our parent company, which is based in the UK. They assemble a delegate from each division of the company and thanks to my management's confidence, they nominated me. Yikes. This is big deal stuff and simply, I can not fuck it up. I'm already finding that this will be like taking on a second job. I will be going to London quarterly this year to meet with my colleagues and I foresee the workload will be demanding. I am paralyzed with fear that I won't measure up...and I can't settle for that. So this is one of those classic moments where I have to, in my Dad's words, shit or get off the pot. I'm opting to shit, if you'll pardon the expression. In the end, I'll be stronger for it. I just have to get over the fear of mediocrity that weighs down the fleet foot of confidence.

So that's my fear to face and I hope, ultimately defeat this year. What's yours?