COURAGE: your spring board to success

The most important thing about a man is what he believes in the depth of his being. This is the thing that makes him what he is, the thing that organizes him and feeds him; the thing that keeps him going in the face of untoward circumstances; the thing that gives him resistance and drive. Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret is curiosity, confidence, constancy and courage, and the greatest of all is courage.

The importance of courage is best captured in the Holy Bible in the book of Joshua the first chapter when Joshua took over from Moses a great prophet of God to lead the children of Israel to enter and occupy the promised land. The Israelites had failed to possess the land for 40 years because they feared the giants that inhabited the promised land. God told Joshua to be strong and have courage three times since He knew that this was the most important quality that would enable Joshua to accomplish the challenging task that was before him. When you believe in a thing, and have the courage to carry out, implicitly and unquestionable, you will achieve it.

The key to having everything you want lies in expanding your definition of what’s possible and focusing on what you want. That’s it! Once you believe in the possibility of anything and focus in on exactly what you want to have, exactly what you want to do, then your mind can take you there. Your minds will believe whatever you convince it to believe. So, why aren’t you living out your dreams? What’s stopping you? Courage is what you require to awaken your dreams and start living the life you’ve always wanted to live.

There are several different aspects of courage. Perhaps the most important is the courage to endure, to persist, to "hang in there" in the face of doubt, uncertainty and criticism from others. There is need to practice patience in adversity. This is called "courageous patience," the willingness and the ability to "stay the course" in the face of uncertainty, doubt and often criticism from many quarters.

In my experience, there is a critical time period between the sowing of a seed which could be embarking on a new venture and the harvest which is in this instance the results that come from that venture. During this hiatus, this waiting period, many people lose their nerve. They cannot stand the suspense of not knowing, of possible failure. They break and run in battle, they quake and quit in business. But the true courageous person is he who can stand firm, who refuses to consider the possibility of failure. The turning points of many key moments in human history have been the resolution, or lack thereof, of one person. Courageous patience is the acid test of leadership.

To encourage others, to instill confidence in them, to help them to perform at their best requires first of all that you lead by example. To help alleviate the fears of failure and rejection in others is to encourage them to take calculated risks and allow honest mistakes. Give the people who look up to you regular praise and approval. Celebrate good tries as well as success, large and small. Create a psychological climate where people feel safe from censure, blame or criticism of any kind. Then do things that make people feel terrific about themselves.

Courage comes from acting courageously on a day-to-day basis. Your personal development goal should be to practice the behaviors of a totally fearless person until you become, in your own mind, unstoppable. Here are two ways for you to develop courageous patience. Firstly, prepare yourself in advance for the inevitable disappointments and setbacks you will experience on the way to your goal. Don’t be surprised when they occur. Secondly, resolve in advance that you will bounce rather than break and continually encourage others to think and act the same way. Dare to go forward. Courage is the mark of greatness in leadership