Saturday, February 09, 2008

A Special Kind of Courage, Posted by Robert Paisola

There are several different aspects of courage. Perhaps the most important is the courage to endure, to persist, to "hang in there" in the face of doubt, uncertainty and criticism from others.

Practice Patience in Adversity

This is called "courageous patience," the willingness and the ability to "stay the course" in the face of uncertainty, doubt and often criticism from many quarters.

Stay the Course

In my experience, there is a critical time period between the launching of a new venture and the results that come from that venture. During this hiatus, this waiting period, many people lose their nerve. They cannot stand the suspense of not knowing, of possible failure. They break and run in battle, they quake and quit in business.

The True Leader

But the true leader is the person who can stand firm, who refuses to consider the possibility of failure. The turning points of many key moments in human history have been the resolution, or lack thereof, of one person. Courageous patience is the acid test of leadership.

To encourage others, to instill confidence in them, to help them to perform at their best requires first of all that you lead by example.

"How to Build Rock Solid Self-Confidence and Achieve All of Your Goals"

You probably already know that the most successful people have incredible levels of self-confidence. They've accomplished great levels of success and happiness in their lives and seem to be unstoppable in everything that they do.

The fact is, that when you develop unshakable self-confidence your whole world will change for the better.

You'll have the confidence to take whatever steps necessary to earn more money and enjoy a higher standard of living. You'll be more powerful and persuasive with other people. And you'll be more popular and likable.

Allow Honest Mistakes

The second thing you can do to help alleviate the fears of failure and rejection in others is to encourage them to take calculated risks and allow honest mistakes.

Build People Up

Give the people who look up to you regular praise and approval. Celebrate good tries as well as success, large and small. Create a psychological climate where people feel safe from censure, blame or criticism of any kind. Then do things that make people feel terrific about themselves.

Become Unstoppable

Courage comes from acting courageously on a day-to-day basis. Your personal development goal should be to practice the behaviors of a totally fearless person until you become, in your own mind, unstoppable.

Action Exercises

Here are two ways for you to develop courageous patience.

First, prepare yourself in advance for the inevitable disappointments and setbacks you will experience on the way to your goal. Don't be surprised when they occur.

Second, resolve in advance that you will bounce rather than break and continually encourage others to think and act the same way.
"Learn how to become one of the best managers in your business!"

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