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    ourage is very significant to self-esteem and happiness. Taking action can be risky and can involve courage; yet taking action is critical to achieving anything in life. As T.S. Elliot put it, “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” Malcolm Forbes said, “Venture nothing, and life is less than it should be.” Jimmy Johnson asked, “Do you want to be safe and good, or do you want to take a chance and be great?”

If you want your life to be different you have to change and change requires courage. Have the courage to view these Happiness Action Tools™ as growth-enhancing and empowering adventures. Approach them with joyful anticipation. You really can have fun with them. My friend, Lenny Johnson, shared this quote from Ashley Brilliant, “Haven’t we always known that change is the one constant that we have had to deal with on a daily basis? As for myself, I love the element of change. It spices up what sometimes would be extremely dull and boring day-to-day living. The introducing of new people are often times the best change of all.”

The most difficult thing about change is making the decision to change. It takes courage to set things in motion. Theodore Roosevelt shared, “Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory, nor defeat.”

Robert F. Kennedy proclaimed, “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and injustice.”

                                     Courage is an Action
Did you know that courage is not a feeling? It is an action. It is something that we do to overcome the fear of unfamiliar or frightening situations. “Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to carry on with dignity in spite of it,” said Scott Turow. The wise Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”

Confronting fears and tackling challenges means taking a risk. It takes courage to face an emotional challenge or accomplish an overwhelming set of tasks. For people with physical disabilities sometimes just the simple act of getting out of bed takes tremendous courage. Every act of courage changes the world. Perhaps not always in a major way, yet your life would certainly be different if you didn’t get out of that bed, wouldn’t it? Taking risks means pushing our comfort zone to new limits. By being willing to expand our comfort zones, we allow our self to experience life more fully. Andre Gide said, “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

True Life Example: This reminds me of a story about a woman who couldn’t swim. She had been horribly afraid of deep water all her life, yet her dream of being a flight attendant was even greater. When confronted with the hardest swim test anyone could have asked her to perform, she amazed herself by taking a deep breath and jumping in. The teacher’s response was, “You have the kind of courage they are looking for.” The woman thought to herself, “There is a God. He does walk on water, and He took my swim test for me.” Truth is she had been willing to “lose sight of the shore,” and discovered her greater potential existed well beyond her restrictive comfort zone.

                                               Resistance to Change
Our fears show up because of our subconscious resistance to change, which comes from a survival level. Let’s challenge the fear to allow for a richer, happier life. Anne Morrow Lindbergh expressed, “We tend not to choose the unknown, which might be a shock or a disappointment or simply a little difficult to cope with. And yet it is the unknown with all of its disappointments and surprises that is the most enriching.” Jim Rohn said, “Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our ambitions. Fear can destroy fortunes. Fear can destroy relationships. Fear, if left unchecked, can destroy our lives. Fear is one of the many enemies lurking inside us.”

Jack Canfield shared, “Almost everything we’ll ever do in life that is really powerful, that really produces a result in our lives, that quantum-leaps us to a new level . . . requires us to do something uncomfortable. It takes risks to achieve. It’s often scary. It requires something you didn’t know before or a skill you didn’t have before. But in the end, it’s worth it.” As former Congressman Ed Forman put it, “Winners are those people who make a habit of doing things losers are uncomfortable doing. Make today your day to start that uncomfortable new habit.” Again, I quote Dr. Robert Anthony, “The greatest risk is not taking a risk.” Hear ye! Hear ye! “Many things are lost for want of asking,” according to an English proverb.

I’m not talking about taking risks like rock climbing, skydiving, walking across hot coals, or being shot from a canon, although if you feel inspired to climb a mountain, you must answer the call as your head and heart dictate. A wise concern for safety is as fundamental to all human beings, as is the need to take a risk now and then in order to reach your full potential. I am suggesting that as Helen Keller shared, “Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”

For our purposes, let’s consider taking risks as meaning daring to try new approaches or ideas with no predictable control over results or consequences, i.e., taking action when the outcome is unknown. And, the way you can take those risks is with courage. Dwight D. Eisenhower said of courage, “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”

                 Courage is Taking Action in Spite of Fear
Fear is the greatest obstacle to our happiness. Fear is defined as the “apprehension of impending danger” or the “anticipation of pain.” The definition of “anticipation” is “something expected.” Therefore, if anticipation is expected, it is not in the present. It is based in the future; it is only imagined and does not really exist. With that idea clear, act courageously against fear: it’s an imaginary foe. The same reality applies to the fear of making a mistake. It is something we anticipate. It is in the future. We are imagining it. In fact, we might just do it correctly! (Smile)

Fear can have no power over you unless you give it that power. Our mind, however, goes back and retrieves events that did not have a successful outcome. In the effort to protect us, our minds manufacture fear. It figures that if we don’t try anything new we will be safe. One of its favorite expressions is, “What if?” attached to a number of possible outcomes. The reality is the chance of any of these things happening is very unlikely. Recognize that your protective mind is not always to be believed; that its purpose is to protect you. You don’t have to listen to it. Act in spite of the fear. Say to your mind, “Thank you for sharing,” and take action anyway.

One of my favorite “Words to Live By” (see Appendix A) is, “What is the worst thing that might happen? And what is the worst thing about that?” (Sometimes I ask the question repeatedly to a point of ridiculousness.) Well, Mark Victor Hansen has a great answer: “Most of the time we’ll find out that the ‘thing’ was not that scary after all. Our imaginations had behaved like a super fertilizer and grown a grotesque monstrosity in our minds.”

                          Stop with the “Yeah, Buts!”
Life is what we perceive it to be. Yet we will often hear a lot of “yeah, but” both from our inner voice and from others. Refuse to listen! If you look closely most of the “yeah, buts” come from critical and/or negative personalities; people who take comfort in calling their limitations “realism.” Idealists, pessimists and realists all approach a challenge differently; the idealist’s reality includes an answer, a way out, a way to overcome and achieve success, a new better reality. The idealist creates a new and better reality by trusting in the overall good and believing in the possibilities. Your own “yeah, but” is that mind of yours foolishly thinking it has to protect you from something that it does not understand; something that is perhaps outside your comfort zone.

Everyone has fears and doubts, even the most successful people. They just employ courage and take action anyway. You can, too! Lynn Pierce, founder of The Women’s Business Empowerment Summit, taught in her book, BREAKTHROUGH TO SUCCESS, “Learn from your mistakes. It may not be the most fun way to learn, but truly successful people turn lemons into lemonade by finding the positive lesson in everything that happens.” So, keep your recipe for lemonade handy and use it often. (Smile)

True Life Example: I published a trade magazine for interior designers and architects for five years. I was at a sales presentation, hoping to get a new advertiser. In becoming acquainted with a new company I would inquire about the primary audience they wanted to reach. This particular time their targeted market was the “general public,” not interior designers and architects. Now, I might have been able to convince the owner of the company I was speaking to that it would be good to broaden his market and include more advertising focus on interior designers. Instead, I replied, “You know, you’re probably better off spending your money with XYZ magazine which effectively reaches the general public.” I ended up receiving a huge number of referrals by this prospect to people who did become advertisers. Why? He shared what I did, because it was unusual. I was trustworthy. Had I not had the courage to “lose” a client I would have lost many more! I had the courage to do the right thing.

                      Risk-Taking Can Be an Adventure
Now is a good time to reiterate Dr. Connell Cowan & Dr. Melvyn Kinder’s powerful quote from their book, WOMEN MEN LOVE WOMEN MEN LEAVE , “Change can be frightening - it can also be an adventure - a growth-enhancing and empowering adventure - to experiment with new ways of being.” I encourage you to have courage and experiment with new ways of being!

                                Courage Action Tool Instruction
                                                   How to Have Courage

Do you have the courage to be your authentic, best self? Do you feel you deserve to have what you really want in life? What stops you from achieving success and happiness? It takes courage to look at our self-defeating habits. It takes courage to unpeel the layers that hide our core prosperity. It takes courage to decide we need to change, and it takes courage to stand by that decision. It takes courage to take the actions necessary to make those changes. Yet, as Maya Angelou told us, “Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.”

Please have the courage to apply these tools and live your happiest life Trust me it is so worth it! I’m so glad I had the courage to change my life! For me it means no more hiding under the covers for days; instead, I’m truly happy almost all the time. Jim Rohn told us, “Do battle with the enemy. Do battle with your fears. Build your courage to fight what is holding you back, what is keeping you from your goals and dreams. Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.”

How many successful moments in history happened because someone had the courage to take action? How many lives have been saved because of courageous individuals? Courage is paramount to our taking action and taking action is paramount to our achieving anything in life. Michael Ritter inspires us with these words, “Imagine what you could do if you weren’t afraid to try.” Vincent van Gogh expressed it in these words, “What would life be if we had not courage to attempt anything?” Utilize the Happiness Action Tool™ of courage now to build your happiest life.