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When a man has fulfilled all four of these requisites- to be wide awake, to have fear, respect, and absolute assurance- there are no mistakes for which he will have to account; under such conditions his actions lose the blundering quality of the acts of a fool. If such a man fails, or suffers a defeat, he will have lost only a battle, and there will be no pitiful regrets over that.

Carlos Castaneda#59

ActionResponsibilityIntegrityAwarenessRegret

About this quote

What does it mean?
If you act with full awareness, fear, respect, and confidence, you own your actions and lack regret.
In plain terms
Acting with total awareness removes blame and regret even if you fail.
What can you take from it?
Act fully aware to avoid regret regardless of outcome.

Where it applies

  • failure
  • decision making
  • conflict

Putting it to work

  • self audit
  • accountability
  • leadership

Questions to consider

  • Are you accountable for your outcomes?
  • How do you act with awareness?

Another view

Some may view this as justifying harmful acts if done with confidence.

More from Carlos Castaneda

  1. We talk to ourselves incessantly about our world. In fact we maintain our world with our internal talk. And whenever we finish talking to ourselves about ourse…

    Permalink to quote #58
  2. When a warrior learns to stop the internal dialogue, everything becomes possible; the most far-fetched schemes become attainable.

    Permalink to quote #60
  3. We hardly ever realize that we can cut anything out of our lives, anytime, in the blink of an eye.

    Permalink to quote #57

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