DO YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO LEAD?

In his book “Next Generation Leader”, Andy Stanley suggests that ‘Courage’ is one of the greatest tools in the toolbox of a good leader.  Webster says that courage is “the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous.  Many of us may interpret this to mean that we need to boldly move into difficult or treacherous activities. 
 
While that may be true in some cases, Stanley cites Three Expressions of Courage that look a little different than traditional thinking.
 
THREE EXPRESSIONS OF COURAGE

• The courage to say ‘No’.  Doesn’t it almost seem counterintuitive that saying ‘No’ takes courage?  But think about it, aren’t there many things in the world that we live in that can take us down a dark path?  That said, saying ‘No’ when the masses are saying ‘yes’ to bad choices truly does take courage, doesn’t it? In addition, wouldn’t learning to say ‘No’ to good things also give you the freedom to say ‘yes’ to the best things?
  

 

• The courage to face reality.  Many times aren’t we tempted to get drawn in to thinking and dwelling on things like “If only such and such would have happened”, “I sure wish he would change his mind”, or “I wish the economy wouldn’t be so bad?”  As a result doesn’t that many times result in negatively affecting our ability to lead others in a positive way?  Doesn’t it make sense for the strong person or leader to focus on “the way things are” rather than “the way we wish they would be”?   Then time and energy can be spent on productive things that are relevant.
  

 

• The courage to dream.  One thing that is very restrictive when we live in the “If only” world, is that it keeps us from dreaming what can be.  Doesn’t it take courage to dream about the future and bright solutions when many people are locked in to believing ‘it can’t be done?’  And doesn’t dreaming give us more freedom to hope for a better future?​  One of the strongest influences on finding purpose and joy is having hope for the future.  Choose to dream with courage!

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