Courage

It's important to understand that courage is not the absence of fear but rather how one reacts to it. If you are faced with a challenge that causes the fear to build up within, you always have two options: take on the challenge or do nothing.

Now courage doesn't need to be demonstrated on a Herculean scale all the time. The simple act of joining a gym if you are out of shape is a small act of courage. In the workplace, you can display courage by fighting for an idea or cause you believe in, even if your co-workers or higher-ups don't agree with you.

The point is that courage is something that manifests itself in our everyday lives by helping us overcome our fears. We still feel the fear, but it is how we react to that fear that demonstrates to the world what kind of person we are.

Think of discouragement as an inhibitor to courage. Discouragement is like fear in many ways. It starts in the mind and greatly affects what we do (or rather don't do). In business, any endeavor is usually composed of many steps that are put together and ultimately lead to an ultimate goal.

Building a company, for example, requires many steps. Along the way, there is a good chance that you will get discouraged. Perhaps sales are not growing as fast as you would like; you hired some ineffective employees; there was a defect in one of your products and you had to issue a recall... the list is endless.

What you must keep in mind at all times, if you hope to become successful, is that discouragement is part of the game. That is, you will feel discouraged at times and that is when you must show the most courage.

-Michael Bucci