Is there something you need to do, but are afraid to do? Join the club. Everyone fears something. As Shakespeare said, "Madmen have no fears."

But as leadership trainer Dale Carnegie so eloquently put it, "Fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind."

Do the thing you fear. A new venture? A bold gesture? A big change? The risks you do not take haunt more than the risks you do take.

"Do what you fear and fear disappears," advised motivational expert David Joseph Schwartz. Of course, the advice is easier said than done when fear paralyzes action. Here are some practical steps to overcoming fear:

Confront the darn thing. Ask yourself, "Why am I afraid?" Your answer will help you make the emotion concrete. Find out the source of your fear and think of actions and emotions that will counteract the fear.

"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way," said baseball great Babe Ruth, known for his strike outs AND home runs.

Talk to others who have done the thing you fear. When I was faced with chemotherapy, I was terrified. I talked to others who had successfully gone through the treatment and it helped ease my fears. Once you start, the resources you need will come your way.

"Discovering fearlessness," taught Tibetian Chögyam Trungpa, "comes from working with the softness of human heart."

Do the thing you fear the most.