A Special Kind of Courage

adapted from: Brian Tracy

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 or your own self-doubts.

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.

Stay the Course
In my experience, there is a critical time period between the launching of a new venture or facing a big challenge and the results that come from that opportunity. 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 or in life.

The True Leader
But the true leader is the person 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.

You probably already know that the most successful people have incredible levels of self-confidence and courage. They've accomplished great levels of success and happiness in their lives and seem to be unstoppable in everything that they do.

The fact is, that when you develop unshakable self-confidence and courage your whole world will change for the better.