Fortune Favors the Brave: 120 Powerful Quotes About Taking Risks and Overcoming Fear

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Updated May 21, 2024

Looking for inspirational quotes about taking risks?

Life is full of risks.

No outcome is ever 100% certain.

No matter what you do, you have to take risks.

But although nothing is ever guaranteed, taking calculated risks is the only way to move forward and advance your life.

As the saying goes, “Fortune favors the brave.”

You cannot grow and expand if you’re afraid to take the leap of faith and leave your comfort zone.

You cannot live your most fulfilling life if you choose not to take chances in life.

Although the fear of taking risks will always be there, you cannot let it stop you from pursuing your goals and living a purposeful life.

There is never a perfect time for you to take action.

Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from starting that project, showing your work, or changing your habit.

If you want to tap into your Everyday Power and taste meaningful achievement, you can’t be afraid of embracing risk and working with it.

Here are some powerful quotes about taking risks that will inspire you to take that leap of faith.

Quotes about taking risks to inspire your inner lion

1. It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win.” – John Paul Jones

2. “Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” — David Lloyd George

3. “Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” – Swami Vivekananda

4. “If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.” – Geena Davis

quotes about taking risks to inspire your inner lion

5. “I don’t believe in pitfalls. I believe in taking risks and not doing the same thing twice.” – Guy Laliberte

6. “No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life in a great cause.” – Theodore Roosevelt

7. “If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.” ― Neil Gaiman

8. “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” – Muhammad Ali

9. “The most critical risk of all, is not taking the risk if means be dangerous.” ― Anthony Liccione

10. “When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” ― Ellen DeGeneres

Quotes about taking risks and living life

11. “Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.” – Denis Waitley

12. “Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.” — H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

13. “There’s something liberating about not pretending. Dare to embarrass yourself. Risk.” – Drew Barrymore

14. “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” – Goethe

15. “The reward is in the risk.” – Rachel Cohn

16. “To know what life is worth you have to risk it once in a while.” – Jean-Paul Sartre

17. “…maybe sometimes it’s riskier not to take a risk. Sometimes all you’re guaranteeing is that things will stay the same.” ― Danny Wallace

18. “People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.” ― Peter F. Drucker

19. “The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.” – Mark Caine

20. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I . . . I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

Quotes about taking risks to inspire and motivate

21. “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” —Mark Zuckerberg

22. “If fear was a man he would never take risks.” ― Fritz Chery

23. “You only do good work when you’re taking risks and pushing yourself.” – Sally Hawkins

24. “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” — Anais Nin

25. “In battle it is the cowards who run the most risk; bravery is a rampart of defense.” – Sallust

26. “Taking risks gives me energy.” – Jay Chiat

27. “The biggest risk a person can take is to do nothing.” – Robert Kiyosaki

28. “…If there is no risk, there is no reward.” ― Christy Raedeke

29. “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T. S. Eliot

30. “The only certainty in life is that it is uncertain.” ― Charles F. Glassman

Quotes about taking risks to inspire you to greater heights

31. “Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” — Frederick Wilcox

32. “You can’t be successful in business without taking risks. It’s really that simple.” – Adena Friedman

33. “Because if you’re prepared and you know what it takes, it’s not a risk. You just have to figure out how to get there. There is always a way to get there.” – Mark Cuban

34. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” ― Helen Keller

35. “You have to risk falling to be able to fly.” ― Debasish Mridha

36. “A ship in harbor is safe, but what is not what ships are built for.” – John A. Shedd

37. “Only those who play win. Only those who risk win. History favors risk-takers. Forgets the timid. Everything else is commentary.” ― Iveta Cherneva

38. Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” – Jack Canfield

39. Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” – Peter Drucker

40. “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” — Mary Tyler Moore

Other inspirational quotes about taking risks

41. “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.” — John F. Kennedy

42. “Living with fear stops us from taking risks, and if you don’t go out on the branch, you’re never going to get the best fruit.” – Sarah Parish

43. “When you play it too safe, you’re taking the biggest risk of your life. Time is the only wealth we’re given. –Barbara Sher

44. “If you opt for a safe life, you will never know what it’s like to win.” ― Richard Branson

45. “Anything that is successful is a series of mistakes.” — Billie Armstrong

46. “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

47. “One who is not afraid to die lives, and one who is afraid to live dies.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo

48. “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair

49. “As we risk ourselves, we grow. Each new experience is a risk.” – Fran Watson

50. “It’s better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.” — Sister Elizabeth Kenny

More Quotes About Taking Risks

51. “Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

52. There is strange comfort in knowing that no matter what happens today, the Sun will rise again tomorrow.” – Aaron Lauritsen

53. “The struggles we endure today will be the ‘good old days’ we laugh about tomorrow.” – Aaron Lauritsen

54. “Most men either compromise or drop their greatest talents and start running after, what they perceive to be, a more reasonable success, and somewhere in between they end up with a discontented settlement. Safety is indeed stability, but it is not progression.” – Criss Jami

55. “Life’s trials will test you, and shape you, but don’t let them change who you are.” – Aaron Lauritsen

56. “This is our big chance to see what people think of us. The real us. We have to show em there’s nothing to be afraid of. If we don’t get over our fears, they never will.” – Lisi Harrison

57. “Those who achieve the extraordinary are usually the most ordinary because they have nothing to prove to anybody. Be Humble.” – Aaron Lauritsen

58. The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.” – Chuck Palahniuk

59. “There is no intensity of love or feeling that does not involve the risk of crippling hurt. It is a duty to take this risk, to love and feel without defense or reserve.” – William S. Burroughs

60. “If you don’t take risks, you’ll have a wasted soul.” – Drew Barrymore

Quotes about taking risks to overcome fear

61. “To say that one waits a lifetime for his soulmate to come around is a paradox. People eventually get sick of waiting, take a chance on someone, and by the art of commitment become soulmates, which takes a lifetime to perfect.” -Criss Jami

62. “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on.” –Sheryl Sandberg

63. “But he’d learned long ago that a life lived without risks pretty much wasn’t worth living. Life rewarded courage, even when that first step was taken neck-deep in fear.” -Tamera Alexander

64. “To live a life of excellence, you will have to take risks.” -Debbie Ford

65. “Don’t be too scared to calculate risks.” -Sunday Adelaja

66. “Whilst I’ll take any risk that I must, I’ll take none that I needn’t.” -Rafael Sabatini

67. “Why take risks? Because too much caution might cost you everything one day. Ironically, that is a risk too!” -Carlos Wallace

68. “There is no self-discovery in a safe life.” -Morrissey

69. “By taking risks you’re putting yourself up to the possibility of failure, so the more risks you take now, the higher your tolerance for loss, setback, and failure will be in the future. You’ll learn from those experiences, embrace the failure and push forward, improving yourself one risk at a time.” -Farah Osman

70. “The only thing you lose in taking risk is fear.” -Marion Bekoe

Quotes About Taking Risks to Help You Move Forward

71. “You can measure opportunity with the same yardstick that measures the risk involved. They go together.” – Earl Nightingale

72. “Everything is a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It’s up to you.” ― Nicola Yoon

73. “You gotta risk it all. That’s what it takes to know, to feel love.” – Jessica Mauboy

74. “The risks were calculated. The risks were justified. No one ever ascended a mountain without risk.” ― Liane Moriarty

75. “Risk leads to greatness.” –Tim Sullivan

76. “Adventure seeker, Risk taker, Her art is her heart.”― Carlo Kui

77. “Girl I woulda risk it all yes I would have risk it all.” – Rico Rolando

78. “Wherever there is danger, there lurks opportunity; wherever there is opportunity, there lurks danger. The two are inseparable.” ― Earl Nightingale

79. “All addiction is progressive. The addict always needs to take greater risks.” – Michael Glass

80. “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” ― Clint Eastwood

Qoutes about Taking Risk to Help You Reach Your Goals

81. “We have real confidence in the mission, and there are some risks, but we have every intention of coming back.” – Neil Armstrong

82. “One default Item of success is risk, those who take the risk will get the dish.” ― Aabas Sadkani

83. “Not learning by doing, but learning by risking.” ― Toba Beta

84. “Most things worth doing come with their fair share of risks.” ― Kirsten Beyer

85. “Risk is the unique path to success.” ― Adria J. Cimino

86. “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.” ― Helen Keller

87. “I win by taking risks. By standing out.” ― Carolyn Lee Adams

88. “Take a measurable risk in life. Make life an adventure.” ― Rupal Asodaria

89. “I can’t promise that you’ll never get hurt again, but I can promise you the risk is worth it.” ― Rick Riordan

90. “Risks may make you win, or they will make you learn. Either of the benefits is worth daring for.” ― Israelmore Ayivor

Quotes About Taking Risks That Help You Believe In Yourself

91. “If you do not take risks for your opinion, you’re nothing.” ― Nassim Nicholas Taleb
92. “I am not afraid of taking risks. We have to take risks for peace.” — Yitzhak Shamir
93. “A person averse to undertaking risk will never achieve a great life because they knowingly settle for a worse life.” ― Kilroy J. Oldster
94. “Freedom is always associated with risk taking, whether it leads to it or comes from it.” ― Nassim Nicholas Taleb
95. “Taking risk will have its consequences, so does not taking any risk.” ― Amit Kalantri
96. “Desperate times required judicious risk-taking.” ― Eoin Colfer
97. “To believe in yourself is to risk yourself, and there will never be a time when that risk is too risky.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough
98. “Take a risk. Stop playing it so safe. Maybe that’s what she’s been trying to tell me the whole time.” — Quentin Jacobsen
99. “People who live life in fear of taking risks die without living it.” ― Fola
100. “There is something attractive about taking risks.” — Sonny Mehta

Quotes About Taking Risks To Change Your Situation

“Learn from mistakes, yours and others. Do not let mistakes stop risk-taking! Identifying and evaluating risks are an integral part of our life.” ― Steven Rosenthal
“Risk it, go for it. Life always gives you another chance, another go at it. It’s very important to take enormous risks.” ― Mary Quant
“Failing just means you’re taking risks to pursuit what you want and believe in.” Dyea Smith
There can be no great accomplishment without risk.” ― Neil Armstrong
“I take risks to find clever and exciting solutions.” ― Peter Folkes
“To win you have to risk loss.” ― Jean-Claude Killy
“I do believe we must risk to dream, then risk to plan, and then risk to act.” ― David DeNotaris
“Risk is like fire: If controlled it will help you; if uncontrolled it will rise up and destroy you.” ― Theodore Roosevelt
“It takes risks to achieve. It’s often scary. It requires something you didn’t know before or a skill you didn’t have before. But in the end, it’s worth it.” ― Jack Canfield
“Risk is more about putting yourself forward in life rather than sitting on your hands and hoping that opportunity will hit you just like lightning.” ― Byron Pulsifer

Quotes About Taking Risks to Give You Courage to Take Chances

111. “Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.” ― Howard Schultz

112. “You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” ― Paulo Coelho

113. Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.” ― Ray Bradbury

114. “Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” ― George S. Patton

115. Risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.” ― Leo Buscaglia

116. “Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks. Yet most people.” ― Phillip Adams

117. “Risk-taking, trust, and serendipity are key ingredients of joy. Without risk, nothing new ever happens. Without trust, fear creeps in. Without serendipity, there are no surprises.” ― Rita Gelman

118. “The dialogue between women is a rich field, but change does not come without a lot of reading, asking, listening, risk-taking and hard work.” ― Hazel Hawke

119. “You must take risks, both with your own money or with borrowed money. Risk taking is essential to business growth.” ― J. Paul Getty

120. Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.” ― Herodotus