Paulo Coelho (b. 1947)
Brazilian lyricist and novelist
I don't know enough to recommend Coelho's books, but I think that what he says in an Open Culture interview about "fear of failure" is worth passing on:
"I’m never paralyzed by my fear of failure… I say 'Ok, I’m doing my best… ' And, from the moment that I can say that I’m doing my best … I sit down, I breathe, and I say 'I put all of my love into it, I did it with all my heart.' …
I can take that to heart. It's a wonderful antidote to fearing actual or possible failure…..it doesn't actually guarantee that you won't fail, but it lessens any debilitating or distracting fear about not getting something completely right. As soon as I can say "I've done my best" or "I'm doing my best on this," I feel a little exaltation and I feel comfortable taking the next step, that is, let this current work be what it is, and move on…..try it on some part of the next big project you're working on.
And while I'm talking about "my best," I realize that "my best" is not necessarily a shining beacon on the hill, somewhere out there…."my best" often is defined by how much time is available to go for it, and also by my current (and changeable) expectations about what I want and what I care about……I strongly believe in standards, and I believe there are some moral absolutes, and I cherish my personal values, but those important guideposts do not unavoidably mandate an impossibly high bar for performance in every case…..and right here I'm deciding that I'm not going to try to clarify this point any more….I've done my best.
current post on Paulo's blog also deals with some aspects of fear
...and here's his website
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