'Our deepest fear is not that we
are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
that most frighten us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to
be brilliant, gorgeous, talented
and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to
be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't
serve the world. There is
nothing enlightened about
shrinking so that other people
won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within
us.

It is not just in some of us, it's
in everyone, and as we let our
own light shine, we consciously
give other people permission to
do the same. As we are
liberated from our fear, our
presence automatically liberates
others.'

Nelson Mandela
Excerpted from the 1994 inaugural speech