The Courage Chronicles: Week 4
Hey Uplifters!
Welcome to this week's edition of "The Courage Chronicles"!
When I started this series, I wondered: Would I be able to think of new ways to be courageous every week? Is it worth writing about if I'm just celebrating the same flavors of courage repeatedly? As with anything new, there was lots of uncertainty. So, I decided the most courageous thing to do was run the experiment, to discover through action what would happen if I tried this new thing.
It turns out my flavors of courage often overlap week to week, but I won't just keep repeating them. I'll try to keep challenging myself to find new ways to be courageous or to recognize acts of courage that I haven't given credit to previously. This week, the biggest week of training for my upcoming marathon on October 6, courage looked like turning up the heat on my physical self-care, setting work on the back burner, and asking my family to stir the soup when I needed extra rest.
But, here’s the coolest thing that's happening with this project: You are reaching out to share your acts of courage with me. Hearing your stories has deepened my own courage and sense of belief, so I'm going to share some of these stories with you each week in hopes that they'll boost your belief too.
Inspiring Acts of Courage
1. A dear friend took her screenplay pilot off the shelf and invested in support to refine it. She recently submitted it for peer review. Can you think of anything more courageous than sending your work out into the world to be poked and prodded? But she took the freaking leap, knowing at the very least that she'd learn something. They loved it! And now it's being sent out on Monday to Hollywood agents, writers, producers, and managers.
2. One of my coaching clients, Tiffany Mura, finished writing her novel, "Hot Chef." 177,000 words across 498 pages (!!!) conjured from her imagination.
Here's a blurb to whet your appetite:
After surviving a catastrophic injury, Dr. Alex McMillan has rebuilt a tiny, safe life back in her beloved Boston, accepting that she will spend the rest of it alone. Focused on protecting the cocoon she has created to escape the demons of her past, she hustles to prove her worthiness through success in her new career and her long-distance bike racing. Chef Grayson Day is battling his own demons of guilt, shame, and profound sadness that have forced him into a life he never imagined. Living a hermit-like existence and desperately trying to avoid any limelight or personal connections, he spends his time doing the only 3 things that bring him any semblance of peace - working out, riding his motorcycle, and spending as many hours as he can cooking at Le Central where his good looks and innate creativity are drawing more attention than he'd like. The last thing he wants is to let anyone in, especially not the stunningly beautiful Dr. McMillan who inadvertently stumbles onto his self-destructive path. Forced into a position where she is obligated to help him, he resists until he has no choice, setting off a chain of events that force them both to confront their pasts and fear of learning to love again.
Tiffany hired me to help her detangle some mental blocks that were distracting her from crossing this massive and remarkable finish line. What a freaking honor to watch someone realize their big audacious goal! Follow along on her Parisian adventures and author journey on her new Instagram: Paris With Tiffany.
Stories of Courage on The Uplifters Podcast
Listen to this week's episode to hear Gail Tifford's courage, and how she walked away from her dream job to focus on her family. Despite guidance to play it cool, she told the truth honestly, demonstrating to everyone on her path what it looks like when an executive lives and leads with integrity.
While running a whole lot of miles this week, I kept hearing Kathrine Switzer and her 261 Fearless co-founder Edith Zuschmann reminding me to be have courage and be fearless. You can hear them here and here.
Stay tuned for next week's episode when you'll hear how Lakeshia Hodge courageously found her way from generational homelessness and economic struggle to creating an organization that, for the last 20 years, has helped thousands of others overcome those same challenges.
Remember, friends: This is why The Uplifters exist. Research shows that when we surround ourselves with courageous people, we become more courageous.
There will be people in our lives who are stalled out by their own limiting beliefs and fears. We can love those people, but we cannot let them limit our own potential.
Tell me about your courage. I want to hear it! Or maybe there's an area where you wish you had more courage to boldly take action on something that's been taking up space in your mind. I want to hear that too! Perhaps we can ask somebody else in this community to be a proof point to help you believe that it's worth entering the race and crossing that finish line.
Oh, one more thing. Here's a much-needed bit of wisdom from Mark Twain, shared by the wonderful
in her recent newsletter.
We're in this together. Your courage inspires mine, and together, we rise so much higher.
Aransas
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