--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stories can conquer fear, you know. They…" description: "\"Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.\" — Ben Okri" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/ben-okri-3640_bigger_stories-can-conquer-fear-you-know-they-c_2690645.jpg" --- # Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the… ![“Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.” quote by Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/ben-okri-3640_bigger_stories-can-conquer-fear-you-know-they-c_2690645.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/ben-okri-3640_bigger_stories-can-conquer-fear-you-know-they-c_2690645.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/ben-okri-3640_bigger_stories-can-conquer-fear-you-know-they-c_2690645.jpg) > “Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.” [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories expand courage and enlarge emotional capacity, allowing us to face fears with a bigger heart. **In simple terms:** Stories help us overcome fear and grow emotionally. Key Takeaway Use stories to confront fear. Themes courage empathy growth Mood hopeful inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - therapy - education - public speaking Key Concepts narrative therapy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can stories be used to reduce fear? - What types of stories inspire courage? A Different Perspective Stories may not work for everyone; some may find them insufficient. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigger/) [Conquer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquer/) [Conquer Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquer-fear-308398/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Bigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-bigger-999308/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Conquer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-conquer-2655780/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [The moment you conquer one fear is the minute you conquer many fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/the-moment-you-conquer-one-fear-is-the-minute-you-conquer-many-fears/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [Conquer fear..make a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reshad-feild/conquer-fear-make-a-decision/) [Reshad Feild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reshad-feild/) > [it's impossible to conquer all fear and loss by preparation. There are always sources of desolation that aren't taken into account because no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/it-s-impossible-to-conquer-all-fear-and-loss-by-preparation-there-are/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [To conquer fear, you must become fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri/to-conquer-fear-you-must-become-fear/) [Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri/) > [Take risks and conquer your fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-risks-and-conquer-your-fear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/you-can-conquer-almost-any-fear-if-you-will-only-make-up-your-mind-to/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Get into "the state:" Conquer fear by stopping thinking about yourself and instead, focusing 100 percent on how you can best serve your audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/get-into-the-state-conquer-fear-by-stopping-thinking-about-yourself/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Face what you fear most and conquer fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-mcbride/face-what-you-fear-most-and-conquer-fear/) [Rob McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-mcbride/) > [The first duty of man is to conquer fear; he must get rid of it, he cannot act till then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-first-duty-of-man-is-to-conquer-fear-he-must-get-rid-of-it-he/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [So then learn to conquer your fear. This is the only art we have to master nowadays: to look at things without fear, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/so-then-learn-to-conquer-your-fear-this-is-the-only-art-we-have-to/) [Friedrich Durrenmatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/) > [“ the only weapon you have got to conquer fear,it is will not to fail ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olugbenga-michael-adepoju/the-only-weapon-you-have-got-to-conquer-fear-it-is-will-not-to-fail/) [Olugbenga michael Adepoju](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olugbenga-michael-adepoju/) > [I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-believe-that-anyone-can-conquer-fear-by-doing-the-things-he-fears-2/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [If you want to conquer fear, don't sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-conquer-fear-don-t-sit-home-and-think-about-it-go-out/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-believe-that-anyone-can-conquer-fear-by-doing-the-things-he-fears/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [So the Marine Corps really did teach me to conquer fear, and then to go for higher causes, higher purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/so-the-marine-corps-really-did-teach-me-to-conquer-fear-and-then-to/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) ## More by Ben Okri > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [“In a fractured age, when cynicism is god, here is a possible heresy: we live by stories, we also live in them. One way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/in-a-fractured-age-when-cynicism-is-god-here-is-a-possible-heresy-we/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [The best writing is not about the writer, the best writing is absolutely not about the writer, it's about us, it's about the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-best-writing-is-not-about-the-writer-the-best-writing-is/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Maybe there are only three kinds of stories: those we live, those we tell, and those that help our souls fly upwards to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/maybe-there-are-only-three-kinds-of-stories-those-we-live-those-we/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [The earliest storytellers were magi, seers, bards, griots, shamans. They were, it would seem, old as time, and as terrifying to gaze upon as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-earliest-storytellers-were-magi-seers-bards-griots-shamans-they/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [An inner darkness is darker than an outer darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/an-inner-darkness-is-darker-than-an-outer-darkness/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and future come together in a kind of rough jazz, if you like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-past-present-and-future-come/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Our time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it is that is beautiful, whatever is true, whatever is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/our-time-here-is-magic-it-s-the-only-space-you-have-to-realize/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Fire is one of my temperaments. It is behind all my work... Fire is a chemical presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/fire-is-one-of-my-temperaments-it-is-behind-all-my-work-fire-is-a/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [I lived rough, by my wits, was homeless, lived on the streets, lived on friends' floors, was happy, was miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/i-lived-rough-by-my-wits-was-homeless-lived-on-the-streets-lived-on/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [If we could be pure dancers in spirit we would never be afraid to love, and we would love with strength and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/if-we-could-be-pure-dancers-in-spirit-we-would-never-be-afraid-to/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Without stories we would go mad. Life would lose its moorings or lose its orientations. even in silence we are living our stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/without-stories-we-would-go-mad-life-would-lose-its-moorings-or-lose/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Literature doesn't have a country. Shakespeare is an African writer. His Falstaff, for example, is very African in his appetite for life, his largeness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/literature-doesn-t-have-a-country-shakespeare-is-an-african-writer/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [“So long as a canvas is empty its potential is infinite… The empty canvas can become a gateway into the landscape of nightmares or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/so-long-as-a-canvas-is-empty-its-potential-is-infinite-the-empty/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [I went to London because, for me, it was the home of literature. I went there because of Dickens and Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/i-went-to-london-because-for-me-it-was-the-home-of-literature-i-went/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) [Explore all 124 Ben Okri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) ## More Bigger quotes > [The bigger the canvas, the better I do. I'm not so good at understated, kitchen-sink kinds of parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/the-bigger-the-canvas-the-better-i-do-i-m-not-so-good-at-understated/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [In China, people are moving from bigger cars to small hatches, and interestingly, the Indian market is graduating to bigger cars and sedans. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winfried-vahland/in-china-people-are-moving-from-bigger-cars-to-small-hatches-and/) [Winfried Vahland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winfried-vahland/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-just-think-structure-can-make-a-book-feel-so-much-bigger-it-s-the/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Max—you have a bigger mission than finding the flock's parents. Focus on helping the whole world, not just your friends. I held my wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/max-you-have-a-bigger-mission-than-finding-the-flock-s-parents-focus/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Sometimes people can write really great scenes and even a great episode, but they can't see the bigger picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-night-shyamalan/sometimes-people-can-write-really-great-scenes-and-even-a-great/) [M. Night Shyamalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-night-shyamalan/) > [Never be too busy for the people you love. Never allow pursuits or possessions to become bigger priorities than your relationships. Love is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-willis/never-be-too-busy-for-the-people-you-love-never-allow-pursuits-or/) [Dave Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-willis/) > [If you consider yourself a part of the culture, then finances can't allow you to be bigger than the actual art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/if-you-consider-yourself-a-part-of-the-culture-then-finances-can-t/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-truett-cathy/if-we-get-better-our-customers-will-demand-we-get-bigger/) [S. Truett Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-truett-cathy/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [I think everyone has been annoyed at school or in their life, that's a type of bullying. So, you can take those feelings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kodi-smit-mcphee/i-think-everyone-has-been-annoyed-at-school-or-in-their-life-that-s-a/) [Kodi Smit-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kodi-smit-mcphee/) > [Athletes at all ages are bigger and stronger than ever before. 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