Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1327IR // #c1327Verbatim excerpt
"“If you do this job and you’re always worried about the political consequences, it’s just not fun,” he says. “If I lose an election because of something I voted for, or something I said that I know to be true, so what?"

— Source: Courage Can Save Us (Rye Barcott)

[Use when]

Fear of backlash is shaping every decision you make.

[Why it matters]

Kelly backed a border bill that a dozen Arizona immigrant groups called a betrayal. Accepting the worst case ahead of time removed the pressure that had made the decision hard.

More from Courage Can Save Us

#c1321"“Can you live with yourself if you pass on it?” he’ll ask. “Or will you always look back and say, ‘What if?’"You're weighing a long-shot venture and the analysis says no. #c1322"But Todd had made a point of building relationships across the aisle, what he calls “a reservoir of trust and goodwill.”" "“We also…You'll eventually need a deal with a rival and have no reason yet to talk to them. #c1323"“Obviously I work for the president and he’s in the opposing party, but I never felt that made a difference. We always just talked about…You're negotiating with someone from a camp your side distrusts.

Same situation, different book

#c1296Count the mental capital a bet consumesA project looks good on paper and would occupy your head every day for months.From Trade Outside the Box #c1252After a loss: look at the data, keep the coreYou've just lost a big contest and people are calling for a complete reinvention.From This Is the Plan #c1491Self-Chosen Woes and the Blindness to Inner GoodAuditing why a person or organization is stuck in perpetual self-inflicted crisis despite having every…From The Golden Verses of Pythagoras #c1459The Substitute's ScaffoldA brilliant, burned-out veteran sneers at a rising colleague during a layoff review. Let the veteran…From A Tale of Two Cities