Sydney Smith Quotes

You have to just dive over the edge. You haven't got time to mess about.

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

I've definitely learned that if you really want something, just go for it, no matter how much it scares you.

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

If I'm going for a shot, then I've just resolved to go for it and not think too much about it.

To do anything truly worth doing, I must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in with gusto and scramble through as well as I can.

Have the courage to act instead of react.

If I'm compelled to do something, I don't shy away from it simply because I haven't tackled it before.

Jump into the middle of things, get your hands dirty, fall flat on your face, and then reach for the stars.

True courage is being afraid, and going ahead and doing your job.

I say, 'Be brave. Do it even if your ankles shake, because they will.'

Embrace the fear and go for it. That's what I do. I don't run from it - I embrace the fear.

Courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

Patience is a virtue, but there comes a moment when you must stop being patient and take the day by the throat and shake it. If it fights back; fine. I'd rather end up bloody at the end of the day, then unhurt with no progress made, no knowledge gained. I'd rather have a no, then nothing. I'd forgotten that about myself.

You can't let fear paralyze you. The worse that can happen is you fail, but guess what: You get up and try again. Feel that pain, get over it, get up, dust yourself off and keep it moving.

The Bible says to 'fear not,' but this doesn't mean you should never feel scared. It means when you do feel fear, keep going forward and do what you are supposed to do. Or as I like to say, do it afraid.

You will never win if you never begin.

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.

A man who waits to believe in action before acting is anything you like, but he's not a man of action. You must act as you breathe.

What is more mortifying than to feel that you have missed the plum for want of courage to shake the tree?

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.

You have to face things, have faith in what you do and go for it. Think, 'What's the worst that could happen?'

I remember my choir teacher in high school told me, 'When in doubt, sing loud.' I'm a terrible singer, but I always auditioned for the musicals, and would get cast in them because I really would just put it all out there. That was really good advice, and I think it works for everything, not just acting.

Necessity of action takes away the fear of the act, and makes bold resolution the favorite of fortune.

The only people who never fail are those who never try.