Law of Courage by Brian Tracy
Part 1 The Laws of Leadership The ability to make decisions and act boldly
in the face of setbacks and adversity is the
key to greatness in leadership. Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is rightly considered
the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend.” Leaders have the courage to make decisions and to take action
in the face of doubt and uncertainty, with no guarantees of success.
Your ability to launch, to step out in faith, even when there
is a chance of loss or failure, is the mark of leadership. Leadership
is not lack of fear or absence of fear. Leadership is control of fear—
mastery of fear. Everyone is afraid; leaders are simply those who face their fears
and take action in spite of their fears. And you develop the habit
of courage by acting courageously whenever courage is called for. The natural reaction of most people is to avoid or to back away
from the things they fear. But when you force yourself to resist this
natural tendency and do the opposite, when you instead move
toward the thing you fear, your fear shrinks and loses its power
over you. Glenn Ford, the actor, once said, “If you do not do the thing
you fear, then the fear controls your life.” The two greatest obstacles to success and personal effectiveness
are the fear of failure and the fear of criticism. But every great success
is preceded by many failures and accompanied by countless
criticisms. It is the lessons you learn from these failures and your
ability to rise above those criticisms that make your success possible
in the long run. Thomas J. Watson Sr., founder of IBM, once said, “If you
want to be successful faster, you must double your rate of failure.
Success lies on the far side of failure.” Make a habit of confronting your fears. If there is anything in
your life that causes you anxiety, treat it as a personal challenge and
resolve to deal with it. As Emerson wrote, “Do the thing you fear
and the death of fear is certain.” The leader in any group or organization is the person who
accepts the responsibility to turn and face whatever danger or
threat is facing the group. Frederick the Great’s motto was
“L’audace, l’audace et toujours l’audace!” (“Audacity, audacity and
always audacity!”) Audacity is often the best policy when decisions are demanded
and action is necessary. Audacity may get you into trouble on
occasion, but then, even more audacity will get you out. An old
Zulu saying is “When faced with two dangers, one behind you and
one in front of you, it is always better to go forward.” Resolve today to move out of your comfort zone, whatever it
is. Great business success comes from taking risks, from going
boldly where no one has ever gone before. Expand your envelope.
Set what are called “BHAGs” (big hairy audacious goals) for yourself
and your organization. Never be satisfied with the status quo. Peter Drucker says, “Whenever you see a great business success,
someone once took a big chance.” Remember, no matter how well you plan, your life will be a
continuous succession of problems, difficulties, disappointments, setbacks, and obstacles that can easily discourage you and cause
you to lose heart. The mark of a leader, however, is that the leader
never allows himself or herself the luxury of discouragement or
self-pity. The leader does not complain, make excuses, or wish that
somehow things could be easier or different. Just keep reminding
yourself, as Henry Ford once said, “Failure is merely an opportunity
to more intelligently begin again.” Resolve today to develop the habit of courage by behaving
courageously, by doing the things you fear, and by dealing boldly
and straightforwardly with the difficult people and situations in
your life. As Mark Twain wrote, “Courage is not lack of fear,
absence of fear, but control of fear, mastery of fear.” How you can apply this law immediately: 2. Identify a specific fear in your life, such as public speaking or
confronting others, that may be holding you back from realizing
your full potential. Whatever it is, resolve today to deal
with it and overcome it. As Dorothea Brande wrote, “Act as if
it were impossible to fail, and it shall be!”
Part 1 The Laws of Leadership
after finishing this article from Brian Tracy check out more guest leadership articles |