Courage.
It’s always been in short supply, but today we need it more than ever.
Courage is that powerful force which enables us to overcome obstacles, to fight for what’s right, to serve others, to drive change—and, ultimately, to become who we were truly meant to be.
From the ancient Spartans to the Civil Rights Movement, from pioneering scientists to mold-breaking CEOs, from Charles de Gaulle to Florence Nightingale, there is no greatness that is not rooted in bravery and sacrifice. Just look at the history of Stoicism: Zeno carrying on after a devastating shipwreck, building a new philosophy from scratch. Cato battling Julius Caesar. Rutilius Rufus braving a false prosecution with dignity and poise. Thrasea defying Nero. Marcus Aurelius sharing absolute power with his brother. George Washington signing his potential death warrant to form a new nation. Stockdale’s effort to cultivate a culture of resistance against his captors in a POW camp.
It’s long been held that there are two types of courage: physical and moral. Physical courage is the Stoic in battle. Moral courage is the Stoic fighting the silent internal battle against the forces of corruption and cowardice to do what is right or to speak an unpopular truth. In reality, these two conceptions of courage are much closer than you think. As I write in my new book, Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Bold, courage is putting your ass on the line. For something. For someone. Literally. Figuratively. Financially. Perhaps even fatally.
This tradition of courage, the one we have studied here now for half a decade at Daily Stoic, is in danger. Cowardice of all types—political, corporate, artistic, cultural—is endemic. People are afraid to take risks. They’re afraid to follow their own path in life. They’re afraid to do what’s right. This is not good. It’s more than just social criticism. It is an urgent threat.
“Must one point out,” the writer and Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “that from ancient times a decline in courage has been considered the first symptom of the end?”
It doesn’t need to be this way. Because courage isn’t rare like some natural resource—something that must be mined or refined. It’s there, within reach, within all of us; in fact, it is reaching out to us right now. Courage calls to each person differently, at different times, in different forms. But in every case it is, as they say, coming from inside the house.
Will you answer? Can you be brave enough to try?
I hope so.
I’m really excited to announce that my newest book, Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors The Brave, is available for pre-order! It’s been my great honor to write this daily email to you all, every day since the summer of 2016. If you have gotten anything out of it—if you enjoy my writing at all—I’d love for you to consider picking up my new book. I’m confident it’s one of my best and I think the blurbs and early reviews already hint that it is. Academy Award Winning Actor Matthew McConaghey called the book an “urgent call to arms for each and all of us.” General Jim Mattis called it “a superb handbook for crafting a purposeful life.” And Classics Professor Shadi Bartsch wrote that it’s “a heartfelt and passionate book.”
If you want to check out the book, I’ve put together a bunch of cool pre-order bonuses—among them is something I’ve never given away: a signed and numbered page from the original manuscript of the book. You can learn more about those and how to receive them over at dailystoic.com/preorder
