Most people overestimate the cost of failure and underestimate the cost of inaction. Fear tends to shrink when we get specific, yet we rarely take time to model our actual worst-case scenario. Take entrepreneurship: while it isn’t for everyone, more people would take the leap if they really examined the fears holding them back. Advice I regularly share with folks who are dreaming but haven’t leaped is to try and quantify their fear of failure. Actually model your worst-case scenario. What most people realize pretty quickly is that even if they “risk it all” and it fails spectacularly, they’re not going to end up homeless and living on the streets. Of course, this doesn’t just apply to starting companies. Ask the girl out. Write the book. Go back to school. Drop out of school. Take up the new hobby you’ve been thinking about. What’s the worst that can happen?