Towards the end of this interview with Seth Godin, Seth mentions consistently doing things he’s afraid of.

I’ve known Seth for a number of years, and I’ve realized I’ve never thought of him as being afraid of anything.

Why? Because he’s so good at what he does.

Hearing him talk about doing things that scare him made me think more clearly about the fact that just because someone is talented and good at something – just because they make something look effortless and easy – doesn’t mean that the act of doing it is a fear-free act for them.

As much as we might hope that we could somehow get to the place of being able to do meaningful work and never feel an ounce of fear, we should actually be hoping for the opposite: that we continue to push the edges enough to always be a little bit afraid that what we are about to do might not work.