The Challenge of Being Brave

My wife and I took our three kids to a baseball game on the Fourth of July. It was awesome. We had candy saw a bunch of homeruns even made it through the seventh inning stretch. So that’s a success and of course, got to be part of the of the national anthem. Now, ever since my oldest James was born, I cry all the time. While a lot of things bring me to tears, witnessing greatness is one of the things that does it just about every time now, the gentleman singing the anthem was incredible his police officer, but more so is reflecting on hundreds of 1000s of brave Americans who have fought and died for our country. That always makes me tear up, my grandfather fought World War Two and the Korean War and my brother John served in Iraq and died as a result of his time there. Of course, we all know, the end of the song goes land of the free and the home of the brave. And that got me thinking, what does it mean to be brave? It’s not necessarily obvious. We hear it all the time. What does that really mean? What does? What does it mean to really be brave. And if you think about it, there’s iconic examples of bravery, like soldiers going into battle. Think D Day storming the beach at Normandy, think firefighters running into burning buildings during 911 think police officers running towards the sound of gunfire as opposed to run away from it. And then there’s everyday bravery. There’s bravery like parents standing up to school boards challenging what they believe to be wrong. There’s Canadian truckers and Dutch farmers who are protesting. So bravery is happening all the time. But what is bravery, really, I don’t know if that’s something that you can necessarily define if spent a lot of time thinking about it. It is a characteristic or quality of being courageous and fearless in the face of danger, difficulty and or adversity involves a willingness to confront overcome challenging situations or risks, even when there may be potential for harm, physically or emotionally. So doesn’t mean that when you’re brave, that you’re not there’s not. It’s not the absence of fear. But instead, it’s the ability to act, despite being afraid. Associated with heroic acts like again, firefighters and soldiers, individuals who put themselves in harm’s way, harm’s way. But bravery can also be demonstrated in everyday life. Like I was just talking about situations where you and I individuals take risks. Stand up for what we believe in, even when it may be unpopular, or uncomfortable. acts of bravery take many forms that can vary widely from facing physical danger to speaking up against injustice, or pursuing personal goals, despite any obstacles that might be in the way. Bravery is highly subjective, can be influenced by cultural, social and individual factors, what may be considered brave to one person context or culture might be seen completely differently by another. I think that perspective is always a super important thing, really, really valuable thing. What’s, what’s the opposite of bravery. And this is something that we see a lot more, I see it a lot more in culture. And frankly, I see it a lot more in the mirror. So when we say I’m just doing my job, it’s the bystander effect, diffusion of responsibility. It’s the perception that I’m not going to do anything because I’ve just got too much to lose, I have too much to lose, therefore, I’m not going to do anything. We’ve all thought it, maybe even set it I’ve got too much to lose my job, my reputation, My followers, My Account, whatever it might be, that leads us to inaction. To do nothing leads us to self censorship. We think that we’re avoiding pain, and we might be but we’re really marching ourselves directly into pain. When we hold our tongues we not only lose the battle, but we also lose the greater war. Edmund Burke famously said the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing. Have you ever thought ever crossed your mind? What you would have done? If you were in Nazi Germany? And you’ve gone gone along with everything? Or would you have stood up against it? It’s pretty easy. Pretty easy to say. There’s no way I would have gone along with that, not me. And that’s my initial response to that I wouldn’t have gone along with it. No way. But that probably just isn’t true. And the rubber meets the road would have said some of those things, I’ve got too much to lose, just doing my job. I suppose the test is to look back at times that you and I have faced adversity head on, and to see what actually happened. So I did that. I podcast here used to be called Money savage. Remember that? A couple of years ago, this show started in 18. This is our sixth year, towards the end of 2020, a couple of years into the show, employee, one of my clients, who is a native american told her employer that she was offended by the name and he savage. Sure you remember what was going on during that time in 2020. And it’s still going on today. So I was faced with one of those difficult decisions I was just talking about, do something about the name, or lose the client, and damage the relationship with the important partner? Who would introduce me to the client? Why do I even have the client in the first place? So I spent a lot of time thinking about it. I talked to a lot of people about it. Lots of conversations, lots of thinking, lots of thoughts. Long story short, against my better judgment, I caved to the pressure, chi concocted some bullshit story about why I did it. And the name of the podcast is now lifeblood, which is an awesome name. I love I love everything about the show. That being said, I’m ashamed of myself for doing it. I regret doing it. And I’m hopeful I won’t make that same mistake again. And here we are. So upon further reflection on bravery, since that baseball game on the Fourth of July, a couple of days ago. I don’t think that I’m brave. I don’t think that I’m a brave person. I don’t think that I have a history of acting with bravery. Even though I might have liked to think about that before. What I think that I am is audacious, similar, very, very, very different. Audacity often implies a certain level of confidence, check, ambition, certainly, and a willingness to stand up challenge the status quo. I certainly do all those those things, none of which really require any bravery. Certainly no true bravery. But from an audacity standpoint, I think I’ve certainly exhibited that quality throughout my life. But I want to be brave. I want to be a brave person. I want to act with bravery. I want to stand up for what I believe I want to be a positive example for my kids, for everybody else. Now, doesn’t mean that I need to go out with guns blazing, I need to be carried out on my shield. But as I talked about a week or so ago, I think it does mean I need to do a better job of living by my values. And my core values are freedom, justice, and responsibility. And that’s individual freedom, individual justice, and individual responsibility. I celebrate and believe in wholeheartedly. Power of the individual. And in the capacity of people, everyday people like you and me to do extraordinary things. I think could be wrong. Sweat. I think it’s time for each of us. starting to realize our potential, starting to become more brave and act more bravely. Live with more. Live more bravely. What do you believe? What are your core values? If you don’t know, that’s okay. I challenge you to figure it out. Once you do figure it out. I challenge you to share them. I challenge you to be brave, to act with bravery as much as you can. Do your part by doing your best

Transcribed by https://otter.ai