The Power of Courage – MM

“One of the biggest factors in success is the
courage to undertake something.”– James A. Worsham

What are you undertaking right now? Are you stretching beyond your comfort zone to make a greater impact, experience a deeper sense of significance, and reap a more abundant financial reward through reaching more people with your inspired message? Or are you merely thinking about taking some forward steps while staying safe playing small in the familiar, even if you’re not satisfied?

Living courageously is really about finding and feeding the “Braveheart” within you so that you are increasingly able to face and even welcome challenges with confidence and determination. (I wholeheartedly encourage you to listen and apply the truths shared by Margie Warrell in our first Business of Life Expert Interview. She wrote the important book Find Your Courage and it is imperative that you find yours to truly succeed).

I haven’t always courageously embraced my mission with the zeal that I do today. It has come in installments in my life, frequently propelled forward through tragedy and other difficult circumstances that I’ve chosen to rise and grow through …and quite honestly I still have my moments. But I never stop reaching.

Will you rise and keep climbing toward your mountain peak? Dr. Paul Stoltz in his excellent book The Adversity Quotient provides a mountain climbing analogy in discussing the pursuit of your dreams. He differentiates between three types of people whose identity is revealed when the going gets difficult, as it inevitably will. He challenges you not to be a quitter, or even a camper who settles for modest progress and a mediocre level of achievement and satisfaction, but rather to remain a climber seeking to realize and fully express the potential within you for as long as you live.

Sharing your inspired message and service with a world in desperate need is a mountainous undertaking worth giving yourself to. It’s a contribution with such powerful potential.

I truly didn’t have a clue about how BIG the science, art, and philosophy of chiropractic were when I began at Pacific States (now Life West) over 30 years ago. I never could have imagined that through this many years in practice, including multiple reinventions of myself and my business, I would have learned and grown so much and remain as passionate as I am today about my profession. I feel amazingly blessed and can’t picture anything else that I would rather have done as a career.

However, there are countless chiropractors (many I’ve known, with new additions every day) who have become disenchanted, lost their vision or let it get beaten out of them along the way, or failed in their efforts at creating a sustainably successful business. I don’t believe that it had to be this way. These same principles and potential threats exist in every business realm.

My opinion is that the foundational basis of that struggle, failure, and abandonment of your chosen business pursuit is a lack of courage.

In Find Your Courage Margie explores twelve acts for becoming fearless in work and life. They are all essential however there are four that I’d like to briefly mention that I believe you need to pay extra attention to.

First of all I think that you need to have the courage to dream bigger. Second, you must take massive action on those big dreams. Third it’s critical to summon the courage to speak up and constantly inform your community about your answers to their needs and concerns. And lastly, you have to muster the courage to persevere in spite of all obstacles and never ever quit.

We are committed to supporting, en-“courage”-ing, and empowering you so that you can develop and sustain the strength and vision to help change the world. We’re glad you’re here to work and play with us. You can create the lifestyle you desire while improving the quality of life of so many more people.

Your personal contribution is special but not easy. Far too often the initial zeal fades into dreams of golf on days off and sometimes alternate career considerations when unexpected resistance is met. There are far too many businesses serving far too few people in their communities, while needs remain unmet.

Helen Keller said that “Life is a daring adventure, or nothing.” Summon the courage to play this adventure full out. It’s far better than “nothing” and you’ll never regret it.