Courage

Welcome to 2012.

What kind of year will it be for you?

Do you have the courage to make it a great year?
(It's up to you.)

You need courage to start a blog or video channel or Google+ to share your passion with the world. The passion is easy because you already have it. And the good news is there are many ways to create content to share your passion—by writing, doing videos, shooting photos, creating infographics, speaking. The tough part is the courage both to begin and to sustain the content creation effort.

You need courage to start your own business. Many people tell me it is “risky” to leave an employer and start something. But in my mind it is the complete opposite. The risk with a job is that you could be downsized. Or the company could be acquired. Or go under. Or get embroiled in scandal. I was sacked three times before I embarked on a business of my own because I couldn’t develop the courage otherwise. But you can.

You need courage to learn a new sport. It looks fun when you watch surfing or skiing or rock climbing from the sidelines, right? You've always wanted to try. But you know that you’ll feel like a dork in the beginning. It will take a commitment to get good enough to be comfortable and enjoy it.

It takes courage to lose weight or begin an exercise program (or both). It's easy to make a resolution and halfheartedly try to cut back for a few weeks. But making a sustained lifestyle commitment is really tough. I know - pizza and beer are tasty! (Especially together). But is this the year you have the courage to modify your diet and exercise for the long haul?

It takes courage to take up a musical instrument. The young 'uns seem to have no trouble learning quickly. But us old dogs?

Make 2012 a year of courage. Start the blog, begin playing the harmonica, establish a business, go back to school, learn to paint, get outdoors, get healthy, have fun.

Whatever you've wanted to do, this is your year.

Image: Shutterstock / Greg Epperson

Comments

[Nick Morgan]

Great post and great word, David! And 2012 is indeed the year. Mayans aside, the future is unknowable so right now is the time to put your courage to the test and get going.

Best of luck to all adventurers.

[Marc Strohlein]

Nice piece David. The "start your own business" part really rings true. As challenging as it may be to make a living as a consultant, it sure beats letting someone else control your life. My companion word is "perseverance." Most things worth doing entail some period of frustration and hard work before you gain the satisfaction of doing something well--perseverance is the realization of courage.

[Larry McGlynn]

Yep, the courage and the discipline to lose weight and exercise was top on my list last year and it was a good thing that I dropped those 45 pounds.

This year, I plan to resume the business blog that I let drop last year.

Courage is a good word for the year. I like it.

[David Meerman Scott]

Nick and Marc -- you two are both full of courage! Thanks for the comment and thanks for your inspiration over the years. Here's to a successful 2012.

[Victoria Crane]

Very timely. I would add to Marc Strohlein's comment on "perseverance," the addition of "commitment."

One of my favorite quotes is "commitment is doing the thing you said you were going to do long after the mood you said it in has left you."

Happy New Year, David. Rock on!

[Paul Gillin]

Inspiring, David. I just started jogging again after two years with no formal exercise plan. You've given me new courage!

[Dana Tan]

How interesting that I read this article moments after contacting a gym two blocks from my workplace to get on an exercise plan! It's Kismet I tell you! I did start a blog in 2011, and I already play the flute brilliantly...but you know, I don't do either as often as I'd like. I am actually toying with the idea of starting my own business...hope it doesn't take getting sacked to actually make me do it. Thanks for the great post and Happy New Year!

[David Meerman Scott]

Larry, Victoria, Paul, Dana -- Excellent!! Exercise and good health helps everything else! Glad that the post was helpful and thanks for commenting.

[CockyYoungMan]

Great article, and every word is true.
I think that my complementary word would have to be MultiTasking,
Becuase that's the only way to survive in the business world.
We all need to have a core i7 processor up our.... Head :-)
Thanks for the inspiration. Kinda feel for a pizza now :-)

[Jim Kukral]

Yes indeed! It takes courage to realize that you can live the type of life you want to live. Once you set yourself free by summoning that courage, you're on your way. Great thoughts David.

[SBNMktg]

The part about starting your own business is really speaking to me. I've just started my own business because I was downsized. Summoning the courage to believe I can do this is not coming easily. But now I also feel burnt by the "security" of a full-time job. Thanks for the post! It's given me the comfort that I'm not alone, if nothing else. But you're right - I can muster the courage to make this work!

[Anne Sorensen]

Thanks David (Coach) :) .. Great post. I'll keep these words close by as a personal reminder throughout the year. Happy New Year! .

[David Meerman Scott]

Cocky, Jim, SBN, Anne -- Here's to your success in 2012!

[Danforthmktg]

David, Thanks for the enCOURAGEment. I started to do marketing consulting a couple of years ago after a layoff. Even had a couple of clients, but I chickened out and went back to the "safe" corporate life. Downsized again now, and will be doing consulting v. 2.0. Am going to put your post in Evernote so I can re-read.

[Avil Beckford]

This year my goal is living fully, and part of that is to have the courage to step outside my comfort zone more often, and to stop caring so much about what others think about me. Thank you for the nudge. Avil

[Joseph Ratliff]

Courage. Yes.

I think we need to be kids again, back before we gained all this "experience" that squashes our dreams as adults.

[David Meerman Scott]

Danforthmktg - for many, "consulting" means "looking for a job". It takes courage to make consulting a career.

Avil - YES! It is your life after all.

Joseph - Perfect. Sums up my thinking.

[amsall]

As someone who runs a Tour Operator business based abroad (in Saint-Louis, Senegal... of all places :-), I think it would be cool to add a little paragraph on the "courage" it would take for many people in the U.S. to take a week-long trip to an off-the-beaten-path destination when the time for vacationing comes. It is a fact that many people consider travel abroad as a dangerous thing to do due to the negativity of the media (bad news sells!). If you just stay home and watch the news on TV or read it in newspapers, the world will naturally seem like quite a scary place!

I have no doubt that "the world is indeed beautiful and full of mostly good people", in particular - believe it or not -
Africa, reputedly the "most scary and dangerous place on the planet"

The rewards of a trip abroad are huge: great stories to tell, a richer life, an expanded Comfort Zone, a more open mind, even deeper self-knowledge (our one-liner is: Let's know each other to better know ourselves)... In fact, I personally believe travel makes you "a better person"

Anyway, Happy New Year to All and Welcome to Saint-Louis, Senegal any time!

[David Meerman Scott]

amsall -- I have been doing such travel since 16 years old when I went to Japan by myself. Love it. Just in the past year I've been to Bahrain, Finland, Panama, and many other interesting spots! Senegal sounds great.

[Rxgs]

Inspiring, David. I just started jogging again after two years with no formal exercise plan. You've given me new courage!

[viagra]

Inspiring, David. I just started jogging again after two years with no formal exercise plan. You've given me new courage!

[kamagra]

It takes courage to realize that you can live the type of life you want to live. Once you set yourself free by summoning that courage, you're on your way.