Sara Blakely Quotes

It seems like the more I live, the more I realize that saying 'yes' is almost never a mistake. If you say no, it might feel safe, but then you end up going nowhere.

I could have easily been too afraid to say 'yes' to Chicago, because it requires so much I haven't done before. If I am a flop at singing and dancing, maybe my love for it will carry me through.

Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great.

I've always wanted to be able to let myself go over the edge.

The fun part for me is to just really push that envelope.

I find myself going to places where I really have no business, speaking to these people in a whole other field that I have no extensive knowledge of. But I do it very often because it scares me.

I never want to turn something down because I'm afraid to do it, because of some idea of image or whatever. That was never anything I set out to do. In fact, the opposite, I always want to confuse people in terms of any kind of image and be unpredictable in any kind of movie I make.

Fear of failure held me back from being a DIYer for many years, especially after a few early attempts at home improvement projects went awry.

Nothing gives us courage more readily than the desire to avoid looking like a damn fool.

Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity.

The greatest risk is really to take no risk at all. You've got to go out there, jump off the cliff, and take chances.

I know what my comfort zones are. But without a back-up, I will never step out of my comfort zone. I don't go bungee jumping; I won't jump from the third floor without a safety net. I don't do such things. That's not my personality type.

I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm damn well gonna do it!

You have to have the courage to face the unexpected. This is the difference between people who do things and people who don't dare, who don't dare to live.

I thought comedy would be the hardest thing I could do, and if I could do that, I could do anything.

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap.

What we have most to fear is failure of the heart.

If people are making fun of you then you're probably doing something right.

Don't let what you don't know scare you, because it can become your greatest asset. And if you do things without knowing how they have always been done, you're guaranteed to do them differently.

With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.

In the beginning, I was frightened to death of going solo. Especially when doing live shows, I was so used to my brothers being next to me. It felt like the crowd was just looking at me, waiting for me to either mess up or prove myself.

Courage is the capacity to meet the anxiety which arises as one achieves freedom.

We don't always have an accurate view of our own potential. I think most people who are frightened of public speaking and can't imagine they might feel different as a result of training. Don't assume you know how much potential you have. Sometimes the only way to know what you can do is to test yourself.

I'm not gonna play a part that doesn't instill some kind of fear in me. If I read a part, and suddenly, I'm thinking halfway through, 'I'm not sure I could get away with this,' I think of everything I can think of to keep me from doing it, that's the one I should do.

I'd tell my 20-year-old self, 'Don't be afraid to do it all. Whatever you're interested in, just go for it. Don't wait around for a better time.'