Courage and Its Role in Your Success (BL #601)

Welcome to the BeingLive Motivational Newsletter Issue #601,
brought to you by BeingLive.com - the Coaching Programs and Success Tools to help you realize more of your potential, achieve your goals and enjoy success in many areas of your life and business.
Visit us online at http://BeingLive.com
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In this issue:
Quotes of the week
Feature: Courage and Its Role in Your Success
Success Tip of the week
Successful People: Lee Iacocca
Purpose: Why Do You Do What You Do
Resources
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Quotes of the week

"Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others." --Winston Churchill

"Dare to be naive." --Buckminster Fuller

"All serious daring starts from within." --Harriet Beecher Stowe

"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world." --Helen Keller

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
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FEATURE: Courage and Its Role in Your Success

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines courage as - mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

So the courage is not the lack of fear, but the ability to go ahead and do what needs to be done despite of the fear.

Winston Churchill has quoted "Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others."

It takes courage to be self disciplined, to take responsibility, to accept your own mistakes, to apologize, to be righteous. No one is perfect. If you make a mistake, admit, accept and move on with courage. As simple as it may sound, you can use courage to practice the positive daily habits, to get up in the morning and to do the physical exercises. You need courage to be bold, strong and tough. You need courage to succeed in business. As Donald Trump says, you need guts, to be tough and to achieve any major success.

You need courage to pursue your dreams and goals. Is it OK to have self doubts? Of course it’s OK. Overcome them by developing courage. Anyone who is trying to accomplish anything worthwhile thinks once in a while "Can I do it? Is it possible for me?" But you can charge ahead by taking a rational approach. Courage makes it possible.

Like any other human quality, courage is learned through various experiences beginning from the childhood. Charles A. Smith, PhD states - "A day comes in every person's life when there is a choice between acting out of fear and doing the right thing. The power that originated in that person's first six years will make the difference. Courage finds its roots in two fundamental skills learned during early childhood: persevering despite adversity and remaining mindful despite fear." (1)

It takes courage to step up to the plate. Once you know that you have adequate knowledge or you know that you have the ability to acquire the necessary knowledge, you can step up to the plate to manage a task. Follow your heart's desire despite any self doubts. Take courage and take charge of your dreams and goals.

It’s natural for you to feel the fear when you are trying to do a new thing. Do your homework, get the facts and recall your own past successful events to overcome the fear.

Winston Churchill took courage, Mahatma Gandhi took courage. So are thousands of their followers.

U.S. Senator John McCain notes "If you do the thing you think you cannot do, you'll feel your resistance; your hope, your dignity, and your courage grow stronger. You will someday face harder choices that very well might require more courage. And when those moments come and you choose well, your courage will be recognized by those who matter most to you. When your children see you choose, without hesitation, without remark, to value virtue more than security, to love more than you fear, they will learn what courage looks like and what love serves, and they will dread its absence." (2)

What about the sudden feelings of fear you experience in certain situations (like when you see a poisonous snake or a burglar trying to attack you)? It’s the natural response of your body which prepares you for flight or fight. So certain fear is good. Its makes you cautious and better prepared. What's not good is when the fear overtakes you for a long term and cripples you from pursuing your dreams and goals. You need courage to control such fears and to take positive actions towards your goals.

When you get up in the morning or when you think of going for a jogging and the mind tries to convince you to procrastinate, ask yourself "What am I afraid of? Am I afraid of the little nuisance of the negative mind?" and take action. When you are daunted by pressing deadlines or unexpected circumstances, say to yourself - "I am not afraid of hard work", "Little bit of inconvenience is not going to hurt me, I am strong enough, I can handle it."

Courage is like a muscle. It gets stronger by exercising it.

In the next part, we will discuss 5 simple steps to improve courage. Till then ponder upon the situations where you can be more courageous.

One of the effective ways to learn and improve the courageous quality is to use affirmations. Try the affirmations tool to practice affirmations on courage.

References:
1. Smith, Charles A. "First Steps to Mighty Hearts The Origins of Courage." Beyond the Journal January 2005. 16 August 2006 [http://www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200501/smith.asp].
2. McCain, John. "Finding the courage within you." Fast Company September 2004. 16 August 2006 [http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/86/mccain.html].
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Successful People: Lee Iacocca

Read and learn about-
- what is he famous for
- interesting qualities, events, facts
- things we can learn from him

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Iacocca

http://www.stfrancis.edu/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/bbios/biograph/leeic.htm

Lee Iacocca quotes:

"The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen."

"People say to me, You were a roaring success. How did you do it? I go back to what my parents taught me. Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something. Don't just stand there, make something happen."
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Success Tip of the week: "Postpone others to focus now"
If something is bothering you or occupying your mind even if you don’t want it to, do this - Say to your mind that you are not going to think about it for next 5 hours or so. So you will be free for next 5 hours. If the thought comes up, simply say to yourself - "I will pick this matter up at 6 pm today. Till then, let me focus on the current task", etc.
Also, if the mind is jumping between too many things at once, postpone couple of things by an hour or two. Now you can work on the remaining issues.
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Purpose: Why Do You Do What You Do
(Individual's purpose to his or her being, actions, thoughts and things)
Your work matters. You do matter. Your purpose is unique to you. Why are you doing the things you do? What’s the purpose in it? How does it contribute to the society? Even if it helps just one other person it is worth it. No matter whatever the task you do on a day-to-day basis, it will interact with the society one way or the other. You may even consider the simple act of driving on the road. By driving safely and courteously you make sure the safety of yours and others. What I intent to say is: "you matter".
Even if you are working at a small job in a big company, your work impacts the society, your efficient work may help to bring the cost down, cheer a person, or make someone's life a bit easier. Strive for excellence.

Please post your comments and thoughts about this, here.
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Resources:

Positive self-affirmations can help you to achieve many things. First person, present tense, positive affirmations can transform your mind and boost your self confidence.
Try one of the best self-affirmation tools freely available online: Affirmations Tool.
Choose the ones you like, modify them or add your own. You will experience a difference, because affirmations (especially spoken and written words) are so powerful. Click here.

Prioritizing your work can help reduce stress and accomplish it faster with peace of mind. see – Prioritize: Tool to Set Priorities Easily.


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