Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.
Interpretation
Courage involves recognizing that something is more significant than the fear you feel.
This quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt emphasizes that true courage is not about being fearless, but rather about prioritizing values, goals, or duties that hold greater importance than the fear one may experience. It suggests that facing fears is an integral part of making decisions and taking action in life, as long as one is grounded in purpose.
In practice
Using this quote in a motivational speech to inspire people facing their fears.
There has been one persistent theme through all Axis propaganda. This theme has been that Americans are admittedly rich, that Americans have considerable industrial power - but that Americans are soft and decadent, that they cannot and will not unite and work and fight. ... Let them tell that to the Marines!
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
A war of ideas can no more be won without books than a naval war can be won without ships. Books, like ships, have the toughest armor, the longest cruising range, and mount the most powerful guns.
Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
A world turned into a stereotype, a society converted into a regiment, a life translated into a routine, make it difficult for either art or artists to survive. Crush individuality in society and you crush art as well. Nourish the conditions of a free life and you nourish the arts, too.
What did I tell you, Mr. Pippin?' said Sam, sheathing his sword. 'Wolves won't get him. That was an eye-opener, and no mistake! Nearly singed the hair off my head!
The war we have to wage today has only one goal, and that is to make the world safe for diversity.
We have, I think, developed an inferiority complex. I think what is needed in India today is the destruction of that defeatist spirit.
I want to weep, she thought. I want to be comforted. I'm so tired of being strong. I want to be foolish and frightened for once. Just for a small while, that's all....a day.....an hour.
No, I am not a homosexual. If I were a homosexual, I would hope I would have the courage to say so. What's cruel is that you are forcing me to say I am not a homosexual. This means you are putting homosexuals down. I don't want to do that.
When I first started in Formula 1, I tried to ignore the fact I was the first black guy ever to race in the sport. But, as I've got older, I've really started to appreciate the implications.
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