Toni Peters – Author

Part 2 of the Go at it Boldly Series

Five months ago, I hung a notecard on my wall with a quote from Basil King — a man who lived more than a century ago, who wrestled with illness, fear, and faith, and who wrote from the depths of his own uncertainty. His words became a daily ritual for me:

“Go at it boldly, and you’ll find unexpected forces closing round you and coming to your aid.”

That sentence taught me to imagine courage as a circle of protection and helped me move forward when everything in me wanted to freeze.

But boldness is only the first step.

Because even when we choose boldness, unfortunately, fear doesn’t disappear.  Instead, it whispers in our ear. It even tries to bargain its way back into the driver’s seat.

And that’s where the next quote entered my life.

A Modern Voice for a Modern Fear

The line comes from Morgan Benton, a contemporary writer who shared her work on Medium. She’s not a philosopher or a literary icon. She’s a woman who wrote honestly about anxiety, healing, eating disorders, relationships, and the daily work of choosing courage over collapse.

Her writing is raw, present, and deeply human — the kind of truth that comes from someone still in the middle of their own becoming.

And in one of her essays, she wrote:

“Never let your fear decide your fate.”

A simple sentence.
A modern echo of Basil King’s wisdom.
A reminder that fear may speak — but it does not get to choose.

When I first read Morgan’s words, something in me relaxed.  Here was a woman writing from the trenches of her own healing, saying out loud what so many of us feel:

Fear lies.

Fear is loud.
Fear is convincing.
Fear even sometimes feels like safety — even when it’s not.

And yet…Fear has never once led me toward the life I want.

So I added Morgan’s quote to my wall, right next to Basil King’s. On purpose.
Two voices separated by a century.
Two people who knew fear intimately.
Two reminders that courage is not a one‑time decision — it’s a daily practice.

Basil King tells me:
Move. Step forward. Be bold. Help will meet you.

Morgan Benton tells me:
And when fear tries to reroute you… don’t hand it the map.

Together, they form a kind of spiritual choreography:

1. Choose boldness.
2. Refuse to let fear choose for you.
3. Trust that support will rise to meet your courage.

This is the rhythm I’ve been living in as a first‑time author — navigating contracts, feedback, revisions, uncertainty, and the emotional excavation that comes with writing a memoir.

I’ve heard fear in my own ear.  It’s told me:

• “You don’t know enough about publishing.”
• “You’re not ready.”
• “What if you get it wrong?”
• “What if people misunderstand your story?”
• “What if your book is a failure and you help no one?”

But every time I’ve chosen boldness instead of fear, something unexpected has shown up:

• clarity
• support
• opportunities
• people
• alignment
• the next right step (even when it’s a tiny step)

Those are the “unexpected forces” Basil King promised.
Those are the outcomes Morgan Benton’s quote protects.

What I Wish I Could Tell Morgan Benton

I wish I could sit with her the way I wish I could sit with Basil King — two writers who shaped my courage in different ways.

I’d tell her: “Your sentence helped me choose myself when fear tried to choose for me.”

And maybe that’s the real beauty of her quote:
It wasn’t written from a mountaintop.
It was written from the middle of the climb.

Every morning, I look at both notecards on my wall.

One reminds me to move boldly.
The other reminds me not to let fear steer.

And together, they’ve become a kind of mantra for this season of my life:

Go at it boldly.
Never let your fear decide your fate.
And trust that what you need will meet you on the path.

Because it always has.
And I believe it always will.