Obama Quotes Mandela: Courage Is Not the Absence of Fear but the Triumph over It

“Universal fears that we have. And my faith helps me to manage those. And then my faith helps me to deal with some of the unique elements of my job. As one of the great departed heroes of our age, Nelson Mandela once said, I learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. And certainly there are times when I’ve had to repeat that to myself while holding this office. When you hear from a parade of experts just days after you’re elected that another great depression is a very real possibility, that will get your attention.” (Laughter)