By Ryan Walter
Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts.
~Winston Churchill
During the late 1970s I was blessed to be drafted second overall into the National Hockey League, where I continued to play professional hockey for fifteen seasons. In my rookie season it felt like our Washington Capitals played the Philadelphia Flyers ten times. When I checked, it turned out to actually be only four! Those four games swelled to ten in my memory bank because the Flyers were known as the "Broad Street Bullies" in those days, and for good reason.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts.
~Winston Churchill
During the late 1970s I was blessed to be drafted second overall into the National Hockey League, where I continued to play professional hockey for fifteen seasons. In my rookie season it felt like our Washington Capitals played the Philadelphia Flyers ten times. When I checked, it turned out to actually be only four! Those four games swelled to ten in my memory bank because the Flyers were known as the "Broad Street Bullies" in those days, and for good reason.
Many of our games against the Flyers spiraled out of control into bench-clearing brawls. Before each of these games, every player on our team struggled with the fear of which injuries he might incur during the upcoming sixty minutes of play. I can recall as if it was yesterday how the bus ride from the hotel to the Spectrum was always stone cold quiet. All of our players were deep in thought, pondering what might be about to happen. Fear often grows out of our perception, before any harm has actually taken place.
I learned a very important lesson during my early NHL days: "Courage is not the absence of fear." Courage is choosing to be my best, independent of the fear I am feeling.
A second lesson I learned was the importance of taking action. Some games the only way I could overcome my fear was to take action. After a while the feeling of courage seemed to follow. How we feel affects what we do; what we do affects how we feel.
These are not easy times. My wife Jenn and I have observed many families around us going through hard stuff. But just like those difficult games against the Flyers, this is not the time to shrink from the challenge; this is the time to grow and develop our personal courage.
I explore the connection between the inner game (including our courage) and the actions that we take (our performance) in my latest book, Hungry! Again, inner feelings and belief are always the drivers of our outer performance, and the inner quality of courage not only drives our personal performance, but inspires it in the people around us.
My wife Jennifer and I are both passionate about adding value to people's lives and developing leaders worldwide. We accomplish this through speaking at leadership conferences or delivering long-term interactive leadership development sessions. During these sessions I have been challenging leaders across North America with this simple thought: The only thing that I can guarantee leaders in today's economy is... problems! If this is true (and I believe that it is) then developing the courage to tackle these problems head-on becomes essential.
As you and I battle through the fear generated by our own "Philadelphia Flyer" situation, let's remember these simple but powerful concepts:
1. "Courage is not the absence of fear."
2. How we feel affects what we do; what we do affects how we feel.
3. Courage and integrity form the foundation of character.
4. Personal courage inspires team performance.
5. When tough times hit, be mindful of Churchill's "It's the courage to continue that counts!"... and Christopher Robin's timeless instruction to Winnie the Pooh: "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." A.A. Milne.
I learned a very important lesson during my early NHL days: "Courage is not the absence of fear." Courage is choosing to be my best, independent of the fear I am feeling.
A second lesson I learned was the importance of taking action. Some games the only way I could overcome my fear was to take action. After a while the feeling of courage seemed to follow. How we feel affects what we do; what we do affects how we feel.
These are not easy times. My wife Jenn and I have observed many families around us going through hard stuff. But just like those difficult games against the Flyers, this is not the time to shrink from the challenge; this is the time to grow and develop our personal courage.
I explore the connection between the inner game (including our courage) and the actions that we take (our performance) in my latest book, Hungry! Again, inner feelings and belief are always the drivers of our outer performance, and the inner quality of courage not only drives our personal performance, but inspires it in the people around us.
My wife Jennifer and I are both passionate about adding value to people's lives and developing leaders worldwide. We accomplish this through speaking at leadership conferences or delivering long-term interactive leadership development sessions. During these sessions I have been challenging leaders across North America with this simple thought: The only thing that I can guarantee leaders in today's economy is... problems! If this is true (and I believe that it is) then developing the courage to tackle these problems head-on becomes essential.
As you and I battle through the fear generated by our own "Philadelphia Flyer" situation, let's remember these simple but powerful concepts:
1. "Courage is not the absence of fear."
2. How we feel affects what we do; what we do affects how we feel.
3. Courage and integrity form the foundation of character.
4. Personal courage inspires team performance.
5. When tough times hit, be mindful of Churchill's "It's the courage to continue that counts!"... and Christopher Robin's timeless instruction to Winnie the Pooh: "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." A.A. Milne.
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