Finding myself explaining the distinction between Risk and fear a lot recently. Risk is a reality of life which is present in nearly everything we do, particularly for those of us starting or running companies, while fear is an emotional reflex that takes over our nervous system and often leads to, among other things, poor performance.

Risk is real, fear is a reflex. More often than not they have nothing to do with one another, but when confronting a situation we conflate the two all the time.

I put together a talk about this topic a couple years ago. It was the first time I shared my time in jail in a public setting. I was terrified that I would be ostracized if people found out, but in reality sharing that fact had absolutely no negative impact. It did, however, bring me closer with our team.

I almost didn't share it because of the fear, but I'm glad I did. It's one of the best talks I've given.