Bravery is the quality that allows someone to do things that are dangerous or frightening : the quality or state of being brave.

I often have conversations about stepping out of my comfort zone and opening up to new experiences. A lot of the time this is a scary thing to think about when there are a million other things going on, especially in a place like New York. Opportunities for various things pop up all the time and it's been a learning process to say 'No' to certain things and 'Yes' to others.

Bravery doesn't have to be this grandiose thing reserved for those without fear and great risk takers. Start small and make little bets on ways to quell the fear that's holding you back from living out the life of your dreams. A few years ago while participating in Project M, I was fortunate enough to meet Ben Barry, who at the time was working at Facebook. Ben was working on a little project that started with a simple question, "What would you do if you weren't afraid?"

I used to think being afraid was foolish and that I had to be fearless all the time, but to know fear and conquer it is empowering. I've proven to myself time and again that bravery and perseverance are enough to get through just about any situation.

As Jack Canfield said, "Everything you want is on the other side of fear."

It's frightening to come up against those things you're afraid of. Just remember that bravery is the catalyst that transforms those dreams into your actual reality: “Fear is the biggest obstacle to our creativity. I don’t believe it’s possible to live a life free from fear, but courage is not the absence of fear; it’s the willingness to act in the presence of fear.” -David duChemin

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Andrew Martis is a graphic designer and lover of letterforms. He's been to known to eat an entire pizza in one sitting and is constantly riding his bike in search of his next cup of coffee. He's the type of guy you'd want to like hang out with and bring home to mom because he's that rad.