Who We Are Determines What We Do

Dream, Speak, Do, Believe

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson

Here's what hits me most: We don't fear success, we fear believing that we are successful. We don't fear winning, we fear believing that we are winners. Why? Because we think that when we choose to believe we are successful -- "that we are powerful beyond measure" -- that who we are now depends on whether or not we succeed. But who we are does not shift with the constantly changing winds of our successes and failures. It is not what we do that determines who we are; it is who we are that determines what we do.