My Why

This message is from a Midshipman at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Even though I receive emails like this regularly, I’m always amazed at the courage they now have to seek the help they need. I will never meet this student, but because of the courage he now possesses, he will inspire others just as I have inspired him.

This is my why.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Knowing what's right doesn't mean much unless you do what's right”. Even though we love phrases such as “doing the hard right over the easy wrong”, that is not always the case. It simply comes down to courage, a source that is in abundance yet is still so rare.

I discuss personal courage in my talk, but I’ve always separated the sum of its parts, moral and physical courage, as if they are distinct.

Physical courage is that soldier sprinting across the battlefield to save his injured comrade, the firefighter risking her life to save people she doesn’t know. Moral courage is the whistleblower standing up against the wrongs of others, the bus rider refusing to give up her seat because of her race.

They are the same; the kind where you put your ass on the line, either physically or mentally, for improving yourself or the betterment of others.

Courage is a virtue that is essential in life; it is the quality that allows us to make the right choices, even when those choices go against the grain. It requires commitment, sacrifice, determination, and the ability to change when others stand their ground.

Are you cultivating a climate of courage within your organization, or are others afraid to stand out and speak up for fear of ostracization or changing the status quo…to put their ass on the line

?