Jonathan Livingston Seagull

I was just reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull and one part kind of stuck out at me.  In one part he's asking why it is so difficult to tell people (well, actually seagulls) that they are free and have no bounds to their potential.  Well I was thinking about that and I believe that as much as people may say they are afraid of failure, they are also afraid of their own potential.  The adage "To not try is to fail" also comes to mind.  Both fears are intertwined, though, for when it comes to trying something new, we sometimes fear failure just as much as success.  We let ourselves and other people hold us back.  Well I guess that's my philosophical speech for the day