My husband forwarded this to me recently (with my improvements):
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out to another is to risk involvement
To share feelings is to risk exposing your true self
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk ridicule
To love is to risk rejection
To hope is to risk disapointment
To try is to risk to failure
But risks must be taken because the greatest loss in life is to risk nothing
The person who risks nothing…does nothing, has nothing, is nothing
He may avoid suffering and sorrow
Shutting his heart off with fear and indifference
But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow, or live
Chained by his fear, he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom
Only a person who risks is truly free to live
—Anon