Are we Discouraging Courage Today?

When I was a youngster in the ‘50s, an important message was, “If at first you don’t succeed, then try, try again. Today the message appears to be that “feeling good” builds character. Kids get trophies just for showing up so they will feel good. We want people to feel good and have created “safe spaces” in universities to help achieve that goal.

In the event of a war, which is more likely than not based upon history, I sure hope our military is prepared for an enemy that will subject them to much worse than bad feelings. We need courageous people in the military and in academia, business and industry. Behold the turtle; he makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. The risk and reward paradigm is necessary for making progress.

Entrepreneurship requires taking risks and the ability to travel unfamiliar roads while subjected to potholes, twists, turns, bumps, and dips that aren’t “safe spaces.” In my book, Success and Self-Discovery, I describe specifically how I handled unfamiliar and challenging roads. I share how my dramatic early success resulted in depression rather than elation, how family impacted my business, and how I overcame many intertwined emotional and business obstacles in order to transform my business and lead a more fulfilled, profitable, and happier life.

My hope is that my book will inspire readers to become entrepreneurs. Living a life of risks and rewards is a beautiful thing. It is the stuff that makes you really feel good and safe in your own SELF. The definition of courage is “the ability to do something that frightens one.”

Wow, it appears that popular culture is discouraging courage, the very character trait that is necessary to take risks and make progress doing anything. Think about it.