This is an interesting word. It is a challenging one, in particular to live out. My last blog was on this one. I honestly struggled to write that one a lot. I do not feel courageous at all. How do you write about something you don’t really understand? Ironically, why would you name your company after something you don’t really understand? It has been months since I wrote that last blog. There is at least one lesson that has been learned in those months.

The lesson? Don’t name your company Courageous Coup and then refuse to be courageous. The name holds me accountable every single day. Coup, by the way, is not coop, like a chicken coop. It is rather pronounced COO, it means to overthrow. My company name is Courageous overthrow. The tag line; Overthrowing past mindsets and arising with wisdom and purposeful growth. What the heck was I thinking? If the company is designed to grow leaders and help people overthrow past mindsets and face their challenges courageously then you have to lead by example or close your doors.

So what does courage look like for me? Reflecting on the definitions of courage as discussed in my last blog post, ‘such as not being deterred by obstacles or fear’, to me it means something different. It means making a stand for what is true and what is best, not what is easiest. It means making the hard phone calls, having the difficult conversations and taking a chance on being rejected or worse, at least for me, people thinking I am not good enough.

Courage means working harder the day after getting beat up by circumstances, or phone calls or experiences. It means getting up early and going for a walk even when the snooze alarm is so easy. Yes, sometimes it is that simple. It means doing the research so that speaking can be done effectively and with the authority needed to stand firm in what is real, not just what is the feeling of the moment. It means listening before speaking, so if words are needed at all, they are spoken with wisdom and purpose. Once again, the name, the tag line holds me accountable.

Courage means stepping up, stepping out and even more, taking the step, then the next and the next and then the one after that. It means moving forward until you are able to look back and smile at how far you have come. When you look forward again, your feet are more sure even though they may be tired, and your back will be straighter even though the load may be heavy. It also means you find a way to hold yourself accountable. Be careful the name you choose, it may call you to live up to it. It may call you to courageously overthrow past mindsets and arise with greater wisdom and purposeful growth.