The Courage to Be Successful | Herbert Edward Law

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Now, let’s move on to today’s reading, which has been edited and adapted from The Power of Mental Demand, and Other Essays by Herbert Edward Law, published in 1916.

COURAGE is the fundamental fact of success. It makes us strong in doing what we have resolved upon. Courage gives persistence, banishes weakness, displaces vacillation with steadiness of purpose, resolves doubt. It makes hesitancy and irresolution impossible. It sends us armed with confidence on our road to success.

Confidence and the expectation of success draw to us all the qualities and mental forces which contribute to success. Courage, therefore, is the vital element of success. A lack of courage creates mental difficulties; it constructs obstacles and barriers; it makes that seem impossible which, with the exercise of courage, will be entirely possible.

A lack of courage creates an expectation of failure, and draws to us all the mental elements that contribute to failure. It destroys our confidence in ourselves and in our purpose. It makes impossible that forceful, resolute attitude which compels success. An absence of courage in relation to accomplishment is the most vital human defect. It is a moral vacuum which draws into it all that is mean, small, contemptible, shrinking, vacillating, weakening, demoralizing and destroying. It annihilates every noble impulse.

Courage creates a resolute, influential, strong character, a determined will and a commanding force. It secures respect for our aim, and confidence and interest in our purpose. Many people failing to cultivate courage, wrongly ascribe their failure to acquire the things they weakly desire to causes outside of themselves. I say, weakly desire, because strong desire is not possible without courage.

A desire which resolves itself into a command, draws out the strength of all our mental forces and shapes all the physical conditions and surrounding influences favorable to achievement. Courage dares to command. There is nothing that will so overwhelm a person with disgrace and humiliation as a lack of courage.

READ THE ENTIRE ESSAY IN EVEREST: 50 MOTIVATIONAL LIFE LESSONS

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