Three Ways to Release the Lion
Those without fear aren’t courageous. They’re oblivious. Courage is choosing to act when afraid.
Nelson Mandela said, “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Three ways to release the lion:
- Choose something to love.
- Choose something to believe in.
- Choose something to serve.
#1. Love something.
Love enables you to act when afraid. The Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz found courage by loving Dorothy.
Choosing to love is choosing to be brave.
Love is taking action in the best interests of others. Don’t bother confronting tough situations if you hate everyone around the table.
Seek the best interest of your organization. It’s not perfect, but it’s making the world better in some small way. If it isn’t, get out now.
Love the relationships you’re building. Love hopes for the best and confronts the worst.
#2. Believe in something.
Belief doesn’t eliminate fear. It overcomes it. The world has seen men and women who believed in freedom, dignity, or God act courageously.
Believe in:
- Making things better.
- The power of combined talent.
- Serving.
- Learning.
#3. Serve something.
Petty living both reflects and produces fear.
- Make a meaningful contribution.
- Follow your own enthusiasm. What energizes you?
- Meet a pressing need. Don’t wait for someone to meet yours.
7 tips for releasing the lion:
- Surround yourself with courageous people.
- Focus more on what you can do than what you can’t.
- Try things. Experience makes you courageous. The unknown makes you afraid.
- Connect with someone who has done what you aspire to do.
- Rest. “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” Vince Lombardi
- Reflect on times when you had courage.
- Create a safety net.
How might leaders develop courage to act when feeling afraid?
This is a beautiful post!
To your question: How might leaders develop courage to act when feeling afraid?
I would suggest they maintain focus on the intended outcome. We build fear when we focus on failure. We build confidence (and courage) when we focus on attaining our goals.
Happy Friday! 🙂
I believe strongly that if we’re seeking to make a difference –> there will be risk –> we should be some fear!!! BUT we should seek to make a difference, overcoming our fear AND learning from our missteps / refining our procedures – on our way to important outcomes.
Love the Mandela quote!!!
Believe we can make a difference, pick yourself up when you fail! Failure can strengthen those who drive beyond there limits and conquer their fears! ” The only thing we fear is fear itself”! Cheers
Focus on what you are of. We are usually afraid of personal loss -financial, status, power. If it is personal, then we are not serving a belief or a cause or an organization – we are too focused on serving ourselves
Thanks for the constant inspiration and support Dan. Long time reader, first time posting. You always seem to know exactly what I am dealing with in the moment. Thank you for that.
For your readers…I’ll just leave my favorite motivational Lion speech here. You should have Christopher Walken narrate one (or all) of your books.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfHAiIq-Yeo
@TheHurtLacher