There’s an ancient, mysterious force that transforms humble people into unlikely heroes: A brother who donates a kidney. A father who shields his son from gunfire. A single mother who works 2 jobs and sleeps 4 hours a day.
Was there a time something meant so much to you, that when you summoned up Courage to do it… it was so completely out-of-character, it shocked you later?
Have you ever wondered where your Courage came from?
Hint: The classic Tao Te Ching describes Courage with these 4 characters:
慈 Loving
故 Causes
能 Ability
勇 Brave
It explains that Courage really is… Love. Love— in whatever form you believe it exists —with its magical ability to light a fire under your ass… or ignite a mountain-moving force to accomplish amazing things. Unbelievable things. Dad-lifts-a-car-to-save-his-daughter things.
You may find yourself doing surprising things, going to places you used to be scared to death of, getting uncharacteristically passionate or protective about something, making sacrifices, or choosing to fight because you have no choice…
… because failure means going hungry, losing someone you love, or giving up something very important to you… and failure is unacceptable.
Love — it’s what separates those who accept failure and misery while shriveling into soulless shells… from those who refuse to be victims of chance and take action.
And that is courage.
Courage isn’t the absence of fear — the fear never goes away. Courage is doing what you do in spite of fear — because something burns within you:
“The hero and the coward both feel the same thing.
The hero uses his fear — he projects it onto his opponent, but the coward runs. It’s the same thing— fear —but it’s what you do with it that matters.” — Cus D’Amato, Olympic boxing trainer
It comes down to one simple question:
Why?
Why do you care?
Why do you want it so bad?
Why do you do it?
Why don’t you just give up?
“We cannot be sure that we have something worth living for unless we are ready to die for it.”
