--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Use fear as an engine, not as a brake." description: "\"Use fear as an engine, not as a brake.\" — Paulo Coelho" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/paulo-coelho-10_brake_use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake-156_1567575.jpg" --- # Use fear as an engine, not as a brake. ![“Use fear as an engine, not as a brake.” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/paulo-coelho-10_brake_use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake-156_1567575.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/paulo-coelho-10_brake_use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake-156_1567575.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/paulo-coelho-10_brake_use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake-156_1567575.jpg) > “Use fear as an engine, not as a brake.” [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear can motivate action if reframed as a driving force rather than a hindrance. **In simple terms:** Turn fear into motivation. Key Takeaway Use fear to propel you forward. Themes motivation psychology growth Mood determined optimistic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - public speaking - entrepreneurship - personal challenges Key Concepts self‑efficacy risk perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel fear into productive energy? - What signs show fear is becoming a brake? A Different Perspective Fear may also cause paralysis if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [A lot of our work at Intel was on the automotive side: in the head unit, engine, and brake controllers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-krzanich/a-lot-of-our-work-at-intel-was-on-the-automotive-side-in-the-head/) [Brian Krzanich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-krzanich/) > [I would say the soul would be more than the engine. The soul would be like the computer system that coordinates everything, from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/i-would-say-the-soul-would-be-more-than-the-engine-the-soul-would-be/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [It may be that no life is found, Which only to one engine bound Falls off, but cycles always round.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/it-may-be-that-no-life-is-found-which-only-to-one-engine-bound-falls/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [WorldGate offers interactive set-top-box applications. Its customers want to interact with the Web as an adjunct to other things they can do, and WorldGate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/worldgate-offers-interactive-set-top-box-applications-its-customers/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [You know the Model of your Car. You know just what its powers are. You treat it with a deal of care, Nor tax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kendrick-bangs/you-know-the-model-of-your-car-you-know-just-what-its-powers-are-you/) [John Kendrick Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kendrick-bangs/) > [Productivity - the amount of output delivered per hour of work in the economy - is often viewed as the engine of progress in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/productivity-the-amount-of-output-delivered-per-hour-of-work-in-the/) [Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) > [Done is the engine of more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bre-pettis/done-is-the-engine-of-more/) [Bre Pettis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bre-pettis/) > [The Analytical Engine is an embodying of the science of operations, constructed with peculiar reference to abstract number as the subject of those operations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-lovelace/the-analytical-engine-is-an-embodying-of-the-science-of-operations/) [Ada Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-lovelace/) > [The more opportunities people have to experience television on different platforms, the more television they consume overall. 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I imagine the top speed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jones/there-gleaming-in-the-glow-was-that-ten-horsepower-rotary-engine/) [George Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jones/) > [A world where everyone creates content gets confusing pretty quickly without a good search engine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-zuckerman/a-world-where-everyone-creates-content-gets-confusing-pretty-quickly/) [Ethan Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-zuckerman/) > [The steam-engine I call fire-demon and great; but it is nothing to the invention of fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-steam-engine-i-call-fire-demon-and-great-but-it-is-nothing-to-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [This is mankind's destiny, the engine with fuels us as a race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-finch/this-is-mankind-s-destiny-the-engine-with-fuels-us-as-a-race/) [Janet Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-finch/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) ## More by Paulo Coelho > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Love will never separate a man from his personal legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-will-never-separate-a-man-from-his-personal-legend/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-love-is-to-be-in-communion-with-the-other-and-to-discover-in-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Eat when it is time to eat. And walk when it is time to walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/eat-when-it-is-time-to-eat-and-walk-when-it-is-time-to-walk/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Joy is like sex – it begins and ends. I want pleasure. I want to be contended, but happiness? I no longer fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/joy-is-like-sex-it-begins-and-ends-i-want-pleasure-i-want-to-be/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Trudi se da zivis, sjecanja su za starije ljude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/trudi-se-da-zivis-sjecanja-su-za-starije-ljude/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've always been a very restless person. 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I've got to put the brakes on or I'll smack into something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/it-s-all-happening-too-fast-i-ve-got-to-put-the-brakes-on-or-i-ll/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [You brake to fuckin easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delphine-hogue/you-brake-to-fuckin-easy/) Delphine Hogue > [The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball, they fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they attempt nothing. Down in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-shoup/the-galleries-are-full-of-critics-they-play-no-ball-they-fight-no/) [David M. Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-shoup/) > [Newman's first law: It is useless to put on your brakes when you're upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/newman-s-first-law-it-is-useless-to-put-on-your-brakes-when-you-re/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [Lethal like venomous snake bites the marijuana makes my eyes bright red like brake lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/canibus/lethal-like-venomous-snake-bites-the-marijuana-makes-my-eyes-bright/) [Canibus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/canibus/) > [You only hear the music when your heart begins to brake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seether/you-only-hear-the-music-when-your-heart-begins-to-brake/) [Seether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seether/) > [It is sometimes of God's mercy that men in the eager pursuit of worldly aggrandizement are baffled; for they are very like a train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/it-is-sometimes-of-god-s-mercy-that-men-in-the-eager-pursuit-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [You say that I should be your teacher! See to it that I am your pinion and not your brake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/you-say-that-i-should-be-your-teacher-see-to-it-that-i-am-your-pinion/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The daughters of God don't brake for jerks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-daughters-of-god-don-t-brake-for-jerks/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [France is ready for a European revolution and it is Germany that is pulling the brakes. For a long time, it was the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/france-is-ready-for-a-european-revolution-and-it-is-germany-that-is/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Some chains will never be broken, until you brake them through prayer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gift-gugu-mona/some-chains-will-never-be-broken-until-you-brake-them-through-prayer/) [Gift Gugu Mona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gift-gugu-mona/) > [One of the reasons we do history, in fact, is because it acts as a brake, a control, on our otherwise unbridled enthusiasm for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/one-of-the-reasons-we-do-history-in-fact-is-because-it-acts-as-a/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) Browse all 186 Brake quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Use fear as an engine, not as a brake.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paulo Coelho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brake" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/paulo-coelho-10_brake_use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake-156_1567575.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/paulo-coelho-10_brake_use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake-156_1567575.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/paulo-coelho-10_brake_use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake-156_1567575.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Use fear as an engine, not as a brake.” — Paulo Coelho", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paulo Coelho", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Use fear as an engine, not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/use-fear-as-an-engine-not-as-a-brake/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```