Uncertainty and ambiguity can induce fear in the best of us. Even Cobra Kai.A few things kind of converged this week that made me want to lead with the classic line from "The Karate Kid" as the subject of this edition.First, if you have not heard, this week YouTube released an original series entitled "Cobra Kai" -- a continuation of the storyline, now thirty years later, of both Daniel (the hero) and Johnny (the villan) since their fateful match at the All Valley Karate Championship at the end of the original movie. I won't spoil anything for you, but I will tell you this:  watch it.  It's a fun, snarky, nostalgic, nuanced, well written and extremely entertaining (and some times not so pretty) take told mostly from Johnny's point of view.  Not too cheesy, surprisingly dark in some points and enough twists and turns in the story line to get you binge watching the entire ten episodes (worthy of the free one month trial of YouTube Red).  I also had an interesting conversation with business colleague this week. My friend had thoughtfully presented a business case to someone, and was awaiting a response.  There was the inevitable period of radio silence on the other end.  We've all been there:  whether it was a business deal, maybe a job offer, buying a house, awaiting medical test results, etc.  My friend admitted that he was afraid he may have left questions unanswered and that he thought it was prolonging the decision.This got me thinking about the idea of fear and how ambiguity and uncertainty can ignite it in people. Fear is not something that can exist on it's own. It is something that we create in our minds when we are unsure of others, ourselves, or a specific situation. It is a reaction to our own perception of what we think we see, hear, or feel at a given moment. We over analyze, we worry we didn't do enough, we create scenarios based on what we think could be happening or we doubt ourselves to the point where we feel we need to say or do something proactively.  This is fear creeping in and getting the best of us. In business and as a leader, you can't allow fear to exist in your dojo.  Fear can make us act irrationally.  As I told my friend, once the presentation was over he was no longer in control.  There was no use worrying about what he could have done differently or better or over analyzing why the radio silence was occurring.  The best thing he could do was feel confident that he did enough to ensure the desired outcome. Sometimes the best thing to do is just sit tight, ignore your fears, and confidently wait until it is time to make your next move.Hopefully after this lengthy opener, YOUR next move is to check out the stories I picked out this week.  We had a great response to last week's selections so I am hoping we can keep the momentum going.  Have an awesome weekend everyone!XOXODave