Someone who fears failure is not willing to take the risks that are an essential ingredient in every new undertaking. This prevents him from taking action in many situations in which he could accomplish a great deal.
If someone accepts that his intrinsic worth as a person is never at risk --even if he does not succeed at a given task - then he is likely to try much more to accomplish.
Rabbi Zelig Pliskin - Gateway to Happiness, p.131
The sage neither seeks to follow the ways of the ancients nor establishes
any fixed standard for all time, but examines the things of his age and then
prepares to deal with them.
Han-Fei-Tzu (? - 233 BC) (also "Ha Fei zu", "Han Fei Zi")
Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say
something clever.
Aristophanes (450 BC - 388 BC) from The Knights