> If any of these things were synonymous, there would be some serious implications. If your project fails, then you as the projectcompanyperson, are a failure and may cease to exist(instead of you still being an alive person whose project failed and whose company may or may not be on the rocks)
Fear of (personal) failure can be a strong motivator though; "One of the most interesting things we've discovered from working on Y Combinator is that founders are more motivated by the fear of looking bad than by the hope of getting millions of dollars. So if you want to get millions of dollars, put yourself in a position where failure will be public and humiliating." [1]
Or if you already failed (and we all fail to various degrees all the time) then fear of looking bad can prevent you from doing the right things to manage the consequences of failure. It is a double-edged sword.
Fear of (personal) failure can be a strong motivator though; "One of the most interesting things we've discovered from working on Y Combinator is that founders are more motivated by the fear of looking bad than by the hope of getting millions of dollars. So if you want to get millions of dollars, put yourself in a position where failure will be public and humiliating." [1]
[1]http://www.paulgraham.com/die.html