If You Do Not Enter the Tiger’s Cave, You Will Not Catch Its Cub

Japanese culture has always fascinated me, and as well as its time-honored traditions and sacred ceremonies, I have found its ancient proverbs to be extraordinarily wise. Everything within this unique culture just seems to be filled with depth and meaning—even its idioms.

On the surface—and especially when translated loosely word for word in English—Japanese proverbs (or idioms) can come off as quite odd—even comical. But on further reflection, after delving deeper into the meaning of each saying, they usually make excellent points and teach us a lot. 

When translated in English, one example of a wise Japanese saying with an abundance of educational value goes, “If you do not enter the tiger’s cave, you will not catch its cub.”

Now, clearly we are not really talking about zoo animals and their offspring, nor their hypothetical lairs. The real meaning is simple and can be summed up in a common saying in English: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Basically, if you don’t put in the effort, you won’t achieve anything.

This is the classic case of risk versus reward. Many of us allow the fear of failure or the endless what-ifs taken to the worst-case scenario to keep us from going after our goals and dreams. And indeed, there have been times in my life where I have refrained from going after something I wanted (both in business and in life) because I was afraid of failure.

But the joke is on us when we allow this trepidation or the endless lists of what-ifs to deter us from going after our goals. This is because if we don’t try, we won’t succeed—100% of the time. Period. So in not trying, we ensure our failure—before we have even taken a single step toward what we truly desire.

Although this logic can be seen as classic insanity (doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results), we find ourselves doing just this in our daily lives—allowing the fear of failure to paralyze us. It is what actually pushes us into the arms of failure that we are so desperately trying to flee. The irony is real on this one. 

So what now? Now that we are aware of our “crazy” (il)logical thought processes, how can we go about overcoming them and keeping them from sabotaging our stepping toward success?

Occasionally what has helped me boldly step out and take a risk have been the words of wisdom and challenging examples of other successful entrepreneurs and pioneers. There is something about hearing someone’s words and seeing that their lives and careers reflect the truth of what they are saying—in a very tangible way.

So I leave you with some of the best sage advice from some prominent trailblazers. May their words spark something in you and ignite courage, so you no longer cower from entering whatever tiger’s cave you are facing today.

“Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act.”—Andre Malraux, French novelist, art theorist, and Minister of Cultural Affairs