Courage Re-Defined

Happy Wednesday!

The piece of advice I wish I had known BEFORE I embarked on the path of entrepreneurship – you have to be courageous.

Courage as defined by Dictionary.com is “the quality of mind or spirit thatenables a person to face difficulty,danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.”

It takes courage to acknowledge the desire to be responsible for your own life. Courage to leave the safety and security of working for someone else whether immediately or within your timeline. The bills do have to be paid and if you do not have a financial support partner while trying to make your business profitable, the need for a paycheck can paralyze you.

It takes courage to be face rejection when a prospect chooses not to work with you, a manuscript is not accepted or the revenue is nonexistent at the beginning. These things are true and they have to be faced and understood. But the fear and the uncertainty is worth the rewards when you make that first sale or land that first client.

The rewards are why I prefer to use the definition of courage that was articulated by President Theodore Roosevelt – “Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”

This entrepreneurial journey is one which includes a myriad of conflicting emotions. There are moments of pure bliss from the successful client pitch which results in a signed contract. There are other times when you are functioning as the CEO (Chief Everything Officer) that you have to wonder if it is worth the trouble.

While we have discussed entrepreneurship in this post, but courage is an integral element to your daily existence.

Courage will get you through the hard times which will occur in life.

Courage will make the good days better.

Courage will help you see opportunities within your barriers.

Courage will remove procrastination and lead you to work harder each day.

Courage helps you find the resources to care for your family.

Courage will make you…

And you find at the end of your life journey or trial, courage made you stronger.

Til next time,

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.” – Theodore Roosevelt