Fearlessness, Them, and Success
Fundamentals of Growing Fearless – Part 2
"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."
—Carl Sagan, Cosmos
The audio above is a short reflection inspired by Carl Sagan’s famous “apple pie” metaphor.
To grow fearless, we first need to understand our context—our interdependence, our origins, and our points of reference.
Quiet & Successful: Who Are They?
I’m sure you know many people who do great, live good lives and are generous to others. If you look at them closely, you might find that they built a clear personal philosophy that overrides the standard one.
Their achievements might not seem extraordinary, but they are remarkable because they feel okay with what life brings to them.
They don’t judge themselves too hard and yet are creative and productive. Their ambition is to keep or increase their quality of life.
That’s how successful I want to be.
Why do they matter?
The quiet and successful remind us that there’s no clear correlation between how much effort you put in and what you get out.
Some people work tirelessly and receive very little. Others do less and seem to receive much more.
In contrast, we often celebrate those who display opulence, visibility, and loud success.
But if success is truly a mix of external and internal factors, then the loud and successful are often only showing one side of the equation.
Over time, this shifts our perception—we start believing success is only about the material, the external, the visible.
But if that were true, why do so many people who "have it all" still live under stress, feel empty, or burn out?
The quiet and successful shows a different way to achieve success. It’s a deeper understanding of fulfillment, one that lives beyond what others can see.
Why are the quiet and successful fearless?
If common sense tells us that success means climbing to the top and making sure everyone sees it, then being quiet and successful takes a different kind of courage.
It means choosing a path that challenges what most people believe to be true.
It means trusting your own definition of success—even when it’s invisible to others.
Here are some of the characteristics I see in them:
They enjoy what they do every day: gardening, resting, connecting with others, and engaging in their professional activities.
They have long-term dreams—but they achieve them in small, steady steps.
They’re not afraid to adapt their goals to changing circumstances.
They refuse to sacrifice their quality of life.
They nurture friendships and family bonds.
And in short, they seem to project less into the future—generating less anxiety for themselves.
Would you add something else?
In contrast, the loud and successful often seem to live in a subtle state of paranoia—defensive, exclusive, and constantly threatened by the future.
The famous phrase “fake it until you make it” feels relevant here.
Many loud success stories are built on keeping up appearances, even when they haven’t truly "made it" in any meaningful way.
What does going fearless mean to me?
It’s not about having no fear—it’s about walking with it, with clarity and courage.
Growing fearless, for me, means developing:
A trust-in-the-process attitude
Confidence rooted in experience, not performance
Resilience to keep moving, even when things shake
Flexibility and adaptability when life redirects your plans
A support network of people who see you fully
A community where you feel valuable, safe, and useful
All of these are conditions for living fully—every single day—despite the challenges, fears, and uncertainties.
They’re not about reaching perfection.
They’re about showing up, adapting, and responding to life to the best of our abilities.
That, to me, is what it means to grow fearless.
Let’s close with Carl Sagan’s apple pie.
Sagan once said that to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.
In other words, the entire history of the cosmos—and of Earth—is necessary for anything we are or experience today to exist. That idea connects us to everything else.
Our civilization often tells us that we are individuals, and that success depends solely on our actions. But deep down, we know that’s not the full story.
Many truly successful people openly recognize the role of timing, privilege, and opportunity—being in the right place, at the right moment.
Yes, we are individuals. But we are also part of an interconnected web—shaped by our families, friends, environment, culture, and even cultures we don’t directly know.
We are because of everything else.
Individualism, without a sincere sense of belonging to something greater, will only keep us defensive, anxious, and lonely.
Have fun with Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking song :)
With love and hope,
Jose.