The document discusses how fear of failure constrains people from attempting great things and achieving their full potential. It notes that scientists and engineers change the world by defying the impossible and refusing to fear failure. While failure itself is not bad and is often part of achieving something great, the fear of failure prevents people from taking risks and pursuing ambitious goals that could lead to amazing accomplishments. The document encourages readers to ask themselves what they would attempt if they knew they could not fail in order to break free of the limitations fear can impose.

1. Slide 1
What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? If you really ask
yourself this question, you can't help but feel comfortable. Because when you
ask it, you begin to understand how the fear of failure constrains you, how it
keeps us from attempting great things, and life gets dull, amazing things stop
happening. Sure, good things happen, but amazing things stop happening.
Slide 2
Slide 3
"You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get
started to be great."
Slide 4
Scientists and engineers change the world. Scientists and engineers defy the
impossible and refuse to fear failure. Now these two ideas are connected more
than you may realize, because when you remove the fear of failure, impossible
things suddenly become possible.
Now I should be clear, I'm not encouraging failure, I'm discouraging fear of
failure. Because it's not failure itself that constrains us. The path to truly new,
never-been-done-before things always has failure along the way. We're tested.
And in part, that testing feels an appropriate part of achieving something
great. Clemenceau said, "Life gets interesting when we fail, because it's a sign
that we've surpassed ourselves.
Slide 5 -6-7
"In 1895, Lord Kelvin declared that heavier-than-air flying machines were
impossible. In October of 1903, the prevailing opinion of expert
aerodynamicists was that maybe in 10 million years we could build an aircraft
that would fly. And two months later on December 17th, Orville Wright
powered the first airplane across a beach in North Carolina. The flight lasted
12 seconds and covered 120 feet. That was 1903

2. Slide 8
You see, there was a time when you weren't afraid of failure, when you were a
great artist or a great dancer and you could sing, you were good at math, you
could build things, you were an astronaut, an adventurer, you could jump
higher, run faster, kick harder than anyone. You believed in impossible things
and you were fearless. You were totally and completely in touch with your
inner superhero. Scientists and engineers can indeed change the world. So can
you. You were born to. So go ahead, ask yourself, what would you attempt to do
if you knew you could not fail?
Now I want to say, this is not easy. It's hard to hold onto this feeling, really
hard. I guess in some way, I sort of believe it's supposed to be hard. Doubt and
fear always creep in. We think someone else, someone smarter than us,
someone more capable, someone with more resources will solve that problem.
But there isn't anyone else; there's just you. And if we're lucky, in that moment,
someone steps into that doubt and fear, takes a hand and says, "Let me help
you believe.
Why Fear Limits Your Life Potential
Fear can prevent you from making positive changes.
Fear can prevent you from breaking destructive habits.
Fear can prevent you from taking risks.
Fear can prevent you from pursuing your goals.
Fear can prevent you from expanding your life.
How to stop fear from limiting your potential.