Thursday, December 5, 1996

The courage to do the hard stuff

Life shrinks or expands
in proportion to one’s courage.
              -- Anais Nin

Courage is not the absence of fear. Rather, it is the ability to feel the fear and do it anyway.

The biggest rewards come to those who have the courage to accept the difficult tasks, to take risks, to do the things that others find too uncomfortable. Anyone can have a great idea -- it takes courage to put that idea into action.

Frederick W. Smith had a great idea. And he risked his entire inheritance of more than $8 million to put that idea into action. Everyone told him he was crazy -- that his idea would never work. During its first two years, his company lost $27 million. Yet with sheer courage and tenacity, he made it work.

His idea, and his company, Federal Express, changed the way the world does business. In 1983 Federal Express became the fastest company up to that date to achieve $1 billion in annual revenue, and it went on to become the world’s largest express transportation company.

Today, Fred Smith is worth $415 million, and Federal Express delivers 2.4 million packages every day in 210 countries. Smith’s courage in following his vision has made him a fortune and added incalculable value to the world.

— Ralph Marston

Appreciate your everything       If you can see it, it's there

Copyright ©1996 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.