“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” —C.S. Lewis
“Wealth lost—something lost; honor lost—much lost; courage lost—all lost.” —Old German Proverb
“In times of stress be bold and valiant.” —Horace
“Fortune and love favor the brave.” —Ovid
“True miracles are created by men when they use the courage and intelligence that God gave them.” —Jean Anouilh
Courage is the virtue with which every other virtue is reinforced when tested. Throughout history, courage has been at the heart of every impossible achievement.
When you think of the great ones throughout history, what is the one thing that they all had in common? They had to have courage. Martin Luther King had to have a ton of courage to stand up for equal rights in the 1960s. Billy Graham had the courage to take God’s Message into totalitarian dictatorships like Communist Russia, Eastern Europe, and North Korea. Ronald Reagan had to have courage to call the Soviet Union an “Evil Empire” and to demand that Gorbachev “tear down this wall.” Alexander the Great could not have conquered two million square miles of the planet without immense courage.
“The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”
— Chinese Proverb
We look up to those people who have the courage to venture into the unknown and persevere. We admire leaders and visionaries, people who have the courage to do what most people don’t think is possible. It’s the feeling that we have when we watch movies like Braveheart, Lean on Me, 300, Men of Honor, and Rocky. Human beings admire people of courage. We make movies about them so that we can feel like a part of their story, even just for a couple of hours. But we can do more than look up to the courageous in history and the movies: We can emulate them. So the question is: Do some have more courage than others? The answer is yes. Just like we strengthen the muscles in our body by putting them to use, you can strengthen your “courage muscle” by putting yourself into situations that require courage.
“Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.”
— William James
The more you use the courage you already have, the more you develop your courage.
Here are some examples of things that take courage in everyday life:
Talking to the girl you really liked in high school when you were afraid she might reject you.
Asking the love of your life to marry you.
Deciding to have kids.
Becoming a first-time entrepreneur.
Moving your family from another country to America.
Sharing your faith with someone.
Sharing your opinion about politics with a group.
Deciding to write a book when English was your worst subject in school.
Reading this book and implementing the principles.
People have come up to me and said, “But Patrick, I don’t have courage like you do.” The above list should show you that you have more courage than you think. In order for you to take it to the next level, you need to put yourself in situations that take you out of your comfort zone. Courage is a gift from God. It is there inside for us to access, but we have to actively reach for it. Courage is a must for those who want to do the impossible.
“A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”
— Unknown
Final Challenge
My final challenge to you as you finish this book is to have a blast throughout the entire journey of doing the impossible. Over the years I’ve had the privilege of working with many different personalities, and it’s always interesting to see how different people approach doing the impossible. I’ve seen people who are miserable on their journey, and I’ve seen others who have fun throughout the entire process. While enjoying the ride may not be necessary to being successful, if you’re not having a blast, you are missing the point.
The best way to look at the journey of doing the impossible is to look at your life like an Academy Award-winning movie with an incredible ending. Great movies always have or end with an unexpected twist. If you look at life as an adventure, you will learn to enjoy the ups, downs, and twists along the way.
There will be days where you just may question your capacity to finish what you started, but keep in mind that you’re a lot closer than you think you are. Embrace the times where you have no clue what to do next. Learn to anticipate the negative thoughts and questions that come during late nights at the office alone:
What was I thinking?
What if they are right and I don’t have what it takes to do this?
Why am I putting myself through this?
Why am I even reading a book called Doing the Impossible?
Is it really worth it?
While all of this is going through your mind, remind yourself what life could look like if you achieve what you’ve set out to do. Think of the memories you’ll share with your loved ones for the rest of your life and the level of confidence you’ll have from proving to yourself that you are a person who finishes what you start. Think about the look on your parents’ faces and how proud they are of you for fighting through the tough times and not giving up.
You can’t put a price tag on any of that. None of these experiences and emotions can be purchased at the mall or ordered on the internet. They can only be earned. It’s a feeling that no drug or drink could EVER replace. And as good as you think it’s going to feel, I’m here to tell you that it is one hundred times better than you ever imagined.
I remember the year 2001 as the lowest point of my life. I was in a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere. I was at a terrible place financially; I was twenty-two years old with twenty-six credit cards and $50,000 of debt. I crammed my 6’5” frame into an old Ford Focus every day, because that’s all I could afford. My father had several heart attacks during this period and I was certain I was going to lose him. I felt like all the odds were stacked against me and there wasn’t anything that I could do right. I was ready to give up and resign myself to a life of mediocrity. But something inside of me kept saying that I was meant to do something special with my life
It wasn’t as simple as making a decision to change my life; I still had to do the hard work. I was forced to go back and get a job working at a gym where I once was a manager. Since minimum wage wasn’t cutting it, I started selling t-shirts on the corner to earn a few extra bucks. I would wake up early in the morning to go to downtown LA and buy shirts for $2.00 and sell them for $10.00. Friends who I went to school with would see me selling shirts on the side of the street and ask me what I was doing. My ego took a huge beating. But all I knew was that I didn’t like the direction my life had been taking and only I could change my course. My family deserved a better life and I felt that I had to step up and deliver for them.
My parents sacrificed a lot to bring us to America. Growing up, we were never wealthy. I remember at six years old asking my dad what heaven looked like. He told me that there’s an Island next to California called Hawaii and that it’s the closest thing to heaven. My dad said one day he’d take me there. Unfortunately, due to his health (thirteen heart attacks, six angiograms, six angioplasties, and three stents in his heart), he wasn’t ever able to take us to Hawaii. As an adult, I became driven by a burning desire to take my dad to Hawaii and experience “heaven” with him. It became a driving force for me to develop a lifestyle with the resources to make those dreams come true, for me and my family. My dad and I have now been to Hawaii together seven times.
In the last ten years we’ve been able to experience things that we never thought were possible. Many of these kinds of experiences cost money; but you can’t put a price tag on them, because money has nothing to do with the value of experiences. As we lie on our death beds, I highly doubt we’ll be thinking about the expensive cars, nice homes, or jewelry we had; but I’m certain we’ll be thinking about the moments and
experiences that gave our lives meaning.
The point of this chapter is to encourage you and challenge you to have fun throughout the entire process. Learn to enjoy the fun times as well as the times where you feel like giving up. Both kinds of experiences are what makes your journey that much more meaningful. Our lives are really a highlight reel of all of our most moving experiences. That is what we will remember at the end. These are the moments that make us who we are. So why not have as many of those kinds of experiences as possible? Why not explore the world? Why not experience what it feels like to do the impossible?
The journey of doing the impossible will be at times frustrating and fulfilling, at times exasperating and enjoyable; but it will always be worthwhile.
Action Item:
Make a list of experiences that you will forever cherish.
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Action Item:
Make a list of new things or places you want to experience that you haven’t yet.
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Action Item:
Write down your life of the impossible. What are some things that you would like to do that may seem impossible at this time? Score them based on difficulty from one to ten. Note as well which one is the most important to you. Choose the one that’s the most important to you at this stage of your life and from there, start your journey of doing the impossible.
About the Author
Patrick Bet-David has been called a renaissance man because of his interesting philosophies on politics, sports, history, humor, and life. He has spoken in front of tens of thousands of people over the past thirteen years on these topics and more. Patrick Bet-David was born and raised in revolutionary Iran. He immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of twelve in 1990. Bet-David joined the U.S. Army in 1997, where he was stationed with the 101st Airborne Division. After he was discharged from the army, Bet-David got involved in the financial services industry. In October of 2009 Bet-David launched People Helping People Insurance Agency (also known as PHP) with a unique vision to restore America by bringing back the free enterprise system to American families. PHP now has agents in thirty-three states where they market life insurance, annuities, and other financial instruments to families.
www.patrickbetdavid.com
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