You may be wondering why we’ve been talking about the power of fear and the wonderful feeling of a queasy stomach that we embrace when we make a big and new decision.
The reason for all this crazy talk is this:

Fear/Throw Up talk is all about COURAGE!!

Without courage in our leadership toolkit, we have no real chance of making a change in the world, or in our teams or families, or even our own lives.
Great leaders choose courage.
Notice that doesn’t say, ‘have’ courage. It says ‘choose’ courage.

***Please see our two previous posts for some background information:

www.louannstropoli.com/shake-it-up-and-grow/
www.louannstropoli.com/get-excited-about-fear/

Here are a few thoughts and quotes about Courage:

“Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles;
Cowardice is submissive surrender to circumstances.
Courage breeds creativity;
Cowardice represses fear and is mastered by it.
Cowardice asks the question, is it safe?
Expediency asks the question, is it politic?
Vanity asks the question, Is it popular?
But conscious asks the question, Is it right? And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe or politic nor popular. One must take it because it is right.”

“We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man[women] is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” (Nelson Mandela)

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
(Winston Churchill)

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

“The things that make me different are the things that make me.” (Winnie-The-Pooh)

Meaning (for our purpose here): The experiences that have come into our lives that have made us different plus our responses of courage to those situations have made us who we are today. When we choose a different response, we create a different version of our future character and life. Our choices of courage today shape our tomorrow.

So… What is Courage anyway?

Here are some ideas of what courage looks like in real life:

1) Choosing to move forward despite our inner fear.
(a new job, a new religious gathering, a move to a new area,
a new athletic endeavor, a first date)

2) Choosing to speak out against an abuse or injustice.
This can take tremendous courage, especially if those around you disagree with your position or if that abuse caused you to fear the power of your voice.

3) Choosing to speak to your supervisor about a challenge or to ask for a raise.

4) Choosing to speak to a subordinate about poor performance or a bad attitude.

5) Choosing to sit down with a friend to share your concern about his/her use of drugs, alcohol, prescription meds, or gambling.

6) Choosing to sit down with a friend to hear his/her concern about your use of drugs, alcohol, prescription meds, or gambling.

7) Choosing to reconcile and forgive and to build bridges rather than hatred and bitterness.

8) Choosing to speak to the neighborhood parents about bullying that you witness amongst their kids.

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. (Theodore Roosevelt)

Can you think of a time when you failed to have courage? Take Heart – we’ve all been there. Forgive yourself and move on!

Can you think of a time when you chose courage in the face of fear? Be encouraged! That was not easy!!

Can you think of something happening right now that is requiring you to choose courage? Buck up with strength! Choose to believe! Now is your time to step up and out and be all that you were created to be!

What spoke to your heart in today’s blog? Inspire others to have courage to by sharing your voice in our comments section. Sometimes all a person needs is to read a comment from someone else in order to know she is not alone.

Use our share buttons in the right hand column. Helping someone change his/her life can be as simple as a share.

Let’s choose to:

Be Inspired! Be Inspirational! Be a Leader!

……
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(Photo credits: MLK: freddiebell.wordpress.com; Nelson Mandela: sacoin.co.za, Winston Churchill: dailymail.co.uk, Eleanor Roosevelt: firstladies.org; Winnie-The-Pooh: winniethepooh.disney.com)

8 Comments

Luckyygal January 24, 2014

Good morning…

Love the concept of courage and how it can make a difference in life. I love that it’s not safe, political or popular… But, where is the safety net? Or is the risk worth being different.

Question how do you instill courage into somebody else. To show that they are worthy to live, to love, to choose life. What would you advise? This person does not have a computer but could really use these words.

Just some ideas I reflected on as I read this blog overstepping fear for courage…

Reply
- Inspirational Leading January 24, 2014
  
  Hi Luckyygal!
  Thanks so much for our insight and your intriguing questions! I’ll definitely give them some thought.
  Also… great question about instilling courage into others. That’s exactly where my thoughts are going for the next or soon to be featured blog post.
  As far as sharing these words with someone who doesn’t have a computer, you could print out the page and give it to them.
  Would that help?
  Thanks again for your insight and for sharing your inquisitive and inspirational mind!
  Have an inspirational and courageous day.
  
  Reply
Laurie H January 24, 2014

I love the quotes from famous people on courage, they were all truly courageous mentors. Also, it is okay to forgive ourself if you don’t have the courage and not beat yourself up. Maybe next time you will chose another move toward courage. Many times I have done something that did not feel comfortable with and felt glad I took a step forward and effort to get out of the comfort zone. It usually did turn out for the best and even if it didn’t at least an effort was made. Another quote I found:
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”

Mark Twain
Thanks LouAnn for letting us have more insite into ourselves!

Reply
- Inspirational Leading January 24, 2014
  
  Hi Laurie,
  Thank you for sharing your thoughts here, especially on the forgiveness end of things. Why is it so hard for us to forgive ourselves? We’ll be talking about that in future posts… but yeah – we should love ourselves too, right? 😉
  Me too – I can’t say I’m always comfortable outside my comfort zone, but I’m almost 100% of the time grateful that I stepped out. Your courage is inspiring!!
  Ohhhh LOVE that quote too! Thanks for sharing!!
  Have a super great courageous day!
  LouAnn
  
  Reply
Carla January 23, 2014

Realizing that courage is a choice gives freedom. I really like Winston Churchill’s quote. Courage isn’t always a spoken word; it is sometimes exercised in silence. Thank you.

Reply
- Inspirational Leading January 23, 2014
  
  Hi Carla,
  Thanks for your comment. The idea that choice gives freedom is amazing insight. That perspective has slipped my mind but is a great reminder. Thank you!!! Yeah…. that’s true. Sometimes it much harder for me to keep my mouth shut. 🙂 Thanks again for sharing your wisdom!! I gained inspiration from you today!
  
  Reply
Dinah Goodman January 23, 2014

I agree courage can be difficult and give us that queasiness in the pit of our stomach. I have found with time it gets easier to make the hard and courageous decisions.

Reply
- Inspirational Leading January 23, 2014
  
  Oh yes indeed. Thanks for reading and commenting! It’s a great reminder to know that each time we choose courage we get stronger and stronger!! That’s comforting!!
  
  Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

Courage in Action | LouAnn Stropoli - […] The last few weeks we have been exploring the excitement of fear and how that queasy feeling in our…

Why all this Fear/Throw Up Talk?

You may be wondering why we’ve been talking about the power of fear and the wonderful feeling of a queasy stomach that we embrace when we make a big and new decision.
The reason for all this crazy talk is this:

Fear/Throw Up talk is all about COURAGE!!

Without courage in our leadership toolkit, we have no real chance of making a change in the world, or in our teams or families, or even our own lives.
Great leaders choose courage.
Notice that doesn’t say, ‘have’ courage. It says ‘choose’ courage.

www.louannstropoli.com/shake-it-up-and-grow/
www.louannstropoli.com/get-excited-about-fear/

Here are a few thoughts and quotes about Courage:

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
(Winston Churchill)

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

“The things that make me different are the things that make me.” (Winnie-The-Pooh)

Here are some ideas of what courage looks like in real life:

1) Choosing to move forward despite our inner fear.
(a new job, a new religious gathering, a move to a new area,
a new athletic endeavor, a first date)

2) Choosing to speak out against an abuse or injustice.
This can take tremendous courage, especially if those around you disagree with your position or if that abuse caused you to fear the power of your voice.

3) Choosing to speak to your supervisor about a challenge or to ask for a raise.

4) Choosing to speak to a subordinate about poor performance or a bad attitude.

5) Choosing to sit down with a friend to share your concern about his/her use of drugs, alcohol, prescription meds, or gambling.

6) Choosing to sit down with a friend to hear his/her concern about your use of drugs, alcohol, prescription meds, or gambling.

7) Choosing to reconcile and forgive and to build bridges rather than hatred and bitterness.

8) Choosing to speak to the neighborhood parents about bullying that you witness amongst their kids.

What spoke to your heart in today’s blog? Inspire others to have courage to by sharing your voice in our comments section. Sometimes all a person needs is to read a comment from someone else in order to know she is not alone.

Use our share buttons in the right hand column. Helping someone change his/her life can be as simple as a share.

Let’s choose to:

Be Inspired! Be Inspirational! Be a Leader!

8 Comments

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Why all this Fear/Throw Up Talk?

You may be wondering why we’ve been talking about the power of fear and the wonderful feeling of a queasy stomach that we embrace when we make a big and new decision. The reason for all this crazy talk is this:

Fear/Throw Up talk is all about COURAGE!!

Without courage in our leadership toolkit, we have no real chance of making a change in the world, or in our teams or families, or even our own lives. Great leaders choose courage. Notice that doesn’t say, ‘have’ courage. It says ‘choose’ courage.

www.louannstropoli.com/shake-it-up-and-grow/ www.louannstropoli.com/get-excited-about-fear/

Here are a few thoughts and quotes about Courage:

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” (Winston Churchill)

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

“The things that make me different are the things that make me.” (Winnie-The-Pooh)

Here are some ideas of what courage looks like in real life:

1) Choosing to move forward despite our inner fear. (a new job, a new religious gathering, a move to a new area, a new athletic endeavor, a first date)

​2) Choosing to speak out against an abuse or injustice. This can take tremendous courage, especially if those around you disagree with your position or if that abuse caused you to fear the power of your voice.

3) Choosing to speak to your supervisor about a challenge or to ask for a raise.

4) Choosing to speak to a subordinate about poor performance or a bad attitude.

5) Choosing to sit down with a friend to share your concern about his/her use of drugs, alcohol, prescription meds, or gambling.

6) Choosing to sit down with a friend to hear his/her concern about your use of drugs, alcohol, prescription meds, or gambling.

7) Choosing to reconcile and forgive and to build bridges rather than hatred and bitterness.

8) Choosing to speak to the neighborhood parents about bullying that you witness amongst their kids.

What spoke to your heart in today’s blog? Inspire others to have courage to by sharing your voice in our comments section. Sometimes all a person needs is to read a comment from someone else in order to know she is not alone.

Use our share buttons in the right hand column. Helping someone change his/her life can be as simple as a share.

Let’s choose to:

Be Inspired! Be Inspirational! Be a Leader!

8 Comments

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

Follow Us

You may be wondering why we’ve been talking about the power of fear and the wonderful feeling of a queasy stomach that we embrace when we make a big and new decision.
The reason for all this crazy talk is this:

Without courage in our leadership toolkit, we have no real chance of making a change in the world, or in our teams or families, or even our own lives.
Great leaders choose courage.
Notice that doesn’t say, ‘have’ courage. It says ‘choose’ courage.

www.louannstropoli.com/shake-it-up-and-grow/
www.louannstropoli.com/get-excited-about-fear/

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
(Winston Churchill)

1) Choosing to move forward despite our inner fear.
(a new job, a new religious gathering, a move to a new area,
a new athletic endeavor, a first date)

2) Choosing to speak out against an abuse or injustice.
This can take tremendous courage, especially if those around you disagree with your position or if that abuse caused you to fear the power of your voice.