35. The Law of Courage

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

The ability to make decisions and act boldly in the face of setbacks and adversity is the key to greatness in leadership.

Winston Churchill once said, "Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend." Leaders have the courage to make decisions and to take action in the face of doubt and uncertainty, with no guarantees of success. Your ability to launch, to step out in faith, even when there is a chance of loss or failure, is the mark of leadership. Leadership is not lack of fear or absence of fear. Leadership is control of fear-mastery of fear.

Everyone is afraid; leaders are simply those who face their fears and take action in spite of their fears. And you develop the habit of courage by acting courageously whenever courage is called for. The natural reaction of most people is to avoid or to back away from the things they fear. But when you force yourself to resist this natural tendency and do the opposite, when you instead move toward the thing you fear, your fear shrinks and loses its power over you.

Glenn Ford, the actor, once said, "If you do not do the thing you fear, then the fear controls your life."

The two greatest obstacles to success and personal effectiveness are the fear of failure and the fear of criticism. But every great success is preceded by many failures and accompanied by countless criticisms. It is the lessons you learn from these failures and your ability to rise above those criticisms that make your success possible in the long run.

Thomas J. Watson Sr., founder of IBM, once said, "If you want to be successful faster, you must double your rate of failure. Success lies on the far side of failure."

Make a habit of confronting your fears. If there is anything in your life that causes you anxiety, treat it as a personal challenge and resolve to deal with it. As Emerson wrote, "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain."

The leader in any group or organization is the person who accepts the responsibility to turn and face whatever danger or threat is facing the group. Frederick the Great’s motto was
"L’audace, l’audace et toujours l’audace!" ("Audacity, audacity and always audacity!")

Audacity is often the best policy when decisions are demanded and action is necessary. Audacity may get you into trouble on occasion, but then, even more audacity will get you out. An old Zulu saying is "When faced with two dangers, one behind you and one in front of you, it is always better to go forward."

Resolve today to move out of your comfort zone, whatever it is. Great business success comes from taking risks, from going boldly where no one has ever gone before. Expand your envelope. Set what are called "BHAGs" (big hairy audacious goals) for yourself and your organization. Never be satisfied with the status quo.

Peter Drucker says, "Whenever you see a great business success, someone once took a big chance."

Remember, no matter how well you plan, your life will be a continuous succession of problems, difficulties, disappointments, setbacks, and obstacles that can easily discourage you and cause you to lose heart. The mark of a leader, however, is that the leader never allows himself or herself the luxury of discouragement or self-pity. The leader does not complain, make excuses, or wish that somehow things could be easier or different. Just keep reminding yourself, as Henry Ford once said, "Failure is merely an opportunity to more intelligently begin again."

Resolve today to develop the habit of courage by behaving courageously, by doing the things you fear, and by dealing boldly and straightforwardly with the difficult people and situations in your life. As Mark Twain wrote, "Courage is not lack of fear, absence of fear, but control of fear, mastery of fear."

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Imagine that you could wave a magic wand and achieve any goal you set for yourself. What actions would you take in your business, what changes would you make, if you had no fear of failure at all? What goals would you set if you were guaranteed success? Whatever the answers to these questions, begin acting today as though your success were guaranteed.

2. Identify a specific fear in your life, such as public speaking or confronting others, that may be holding you back from realizing your full potential. Whatever it is, resolve today to deal with it and overcome it. As Dorothea Brande wrote, "Act as if it were impossible to fail, and it shall be!"

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).