Rational Fearlessness

Rational Fearlessness

When my son was young he refused to go into a fun house because it was dark inside (for all I know, he still might feel that way). When I admonished him not to be afraid of the dark, he told me he wasn’t afraid of the dark, he was afraid of what might be in the dark.

Not a bad point, then or now. However, what might be in the dark (or our “blind spots,” remember the  Johari Window?) can be quite positive. No one predicted the internet. Of course, no one predicted the pandemic, either.

We need to create light that allows us to avoid the obstacles in the dark and take advantage of the opportunities in the dark. That light comes from intelligent questions, prudent risk, and resilience. In other words, “rational fearlessness.”

Long ago when I was beginning to use computers and I noticed that if there were 20 people in my workshop, they cumulatively had 30 Apple devices with them. (Today it’s more like 50 or 60). I thought that in the “darkness” there was this growing, unstoppable marketing force. So I purchased a pile of Apple stock.

At $17 per share. I still have a hell of a lot of it.