***The Foundations of Courage

Trust yourself. When danger comes, you will have what it takes to deal with it.nnIn his book Lost and Found, Dr. Arthur Caliandro writes that when he was a little boy, he and his father had a favorite game. Arthur would stand three or four steps up the stairs in their home. His father would stand on the floor below and call, “Jump, Arthur! Jump!” Arthur would hesitate. What if he jumped and his father dropped him? But when he finally got up his courage and soared out into the air, his father always caught him. What a good feeling it was to land securely in his father’s strong arms.nnThat story teaches a valuable lesson about courage. Until we take heart and jump into the unknown, we can never land in the place that is right for us. Yet when confronted with risk, most of us hesitate to jump.nnIn contrast, successful people have learned to take risks, even when experts say they are foolish to do so. Look at David Neeleman, CEO of Jet Blue Airways. He had the courage to establish a new enterprise in an industry that has been consistently unprofitable and hostile to newcomers, and to try to generate profits by charging less than his competitors, not more. Now, there is a risk-taker. He is pursuing his dream and, so far, the sun is shining on him.nnHow can you cultivate that kind of courage?nn1) Trust yourself. If you jump, you will save yourself from harm. You might not think so, but you will because you have formidable resources on your side: your experience, talent, resilience, and common sense. Trust yourself. When danger comes, you will have what it takes to deal with it. Your own arms will catch you, just like those of a loving mom or dad. Of course, your friends and family are part of your support team, too. You rarely act alone.nn2) Take smart risks. Study other companies and entrepreneurs who have done what you want to do--both the successes and the failures. Learn the skills you need to compete with the best of them. Education gives you a practical advantage.nn3) Reduce risk to an acceptable level. If you are buying a building, insure it adequately. When you take on a business partner, make sure he or she has the financial resources to go the distance with you. You cannot eliminate all risks, but you can control the factors that affect your success.nn4) Create worst-case scenarios for the risks you are taking. If you apply for a loan and get turned down, what is the worst thing that will happen to you then? Probably nothing serious. If you interview for a high-stakes job and get rejected, what is the real damage? Probably none. When you look at your fears realistically, you see that the lions that were causing you to freeze in place were really kittens.nn5) Gain courage from the stories of notable risk-takers. Here are four that come to mind:n

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• David Neeleman, CEO of Jet Blue Airways - http://www.jetblue.com/learnmore/index.htmln
• Mikhail Gorbachev, who risked personal destruction when he struck the first blows to end Soviet communism - http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/gorbachev.htmln
• Abraham Lincoln, who spoke out against slavery when it was far safer to keep quiet - http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/n
• Michelle Wie, the young Korean-American golfer who is demanding to compete with men in PGA events - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Wien

nBecause fear of failure immobilizes you, it does a lot more harm than failure itself. Think of that little boy on the stairs. Arthur jumped, and you should jump, too.