“You are smart, right?” “Yes, I think so.” “Good, then you have nothing to fear.” — Jack Reacher
In the movie Jack Reacher, Jack, played by Tom Cruise, asks attorney Helen Rodin, played by Rosamund Pike (yes, the Bond girl), “You are smart, right?” She somewhat sheepishly answers, “Yes, I think so.” Jack, then confidently replies, “Good, then you have nothing to fear.”
Sure we all have doubts. Donald Trump says, “Doubts handled well, should make you smarter and strengthen your chances for success.”¹ My resolve in life has been to push aside fear and doubt and never give up. It’s something I’ve learned over the course of my life that I have found most people don’t do. Many just pretend. They pretend they know as much as you do. They pretend they take the same risks. They pretend they invest the same amount of hours to learning. They don’t. Instead they chose the path of least resistance and when faced with the truth, they show their ignorance.
When a challenging opportunity comes along, take full advantage of it. Know your stuff better than your competitor. And when you come across that person who just realized they are not in your league, don’t let their resentment towards you deter you. Just keep pushing forward and keep growing.
¹ Trump Never Give Up by Donald Trump, p.46