I attended a Paul McCartney concert recently and it reminded me of the courage it took four young men from Liverpool, England to play music that was unheard of and scandalous at the time.  And, there we were sitting with thousands of other fans, both young and old, applauding the musical phenomena that came from having the courage to stand alone.

So much of our world today would not be as we know it, if it weren't for the courage of a few who chose to take the road less travelled. You would think, with all that has been accomplished as a result of this courage, more of us would feel comfortable taking risks in our own lives.

But, I have found that this is not the case. Despite all the progress that has been born from innovation, many of us are still too afraid to strike out our own path as Columbus did. Why do you think that is?

Fear is one of the most debilitating deterrents that prevents many people from going against the crowd. But do you think it is possible that there is more fear in the world now than there was in the days of Columbus, Edison, Galileo and Einstein? I don't think so. Our world has always been full of fear. Fear has been handed down from generation to generation for as long as man has existed. Yet some people have had the courage to overcome that fear and have gone on to invent, discover or innovate those things which we sometimes take for granted today. They rose above the naysayers and the fears of the day so they could move forward, sticking relentlessly to their beliefs. They had the courage to stand alone and as a result, we benefitted.

Are those courageous innovators and inventors really any different from you and me? Did they have some God-given talent or skill that we do not have? Or were they simply more brave; less afraid to take a risk? What would your life be like if you were willing to follow your own dreams and aspirations, rather than keeping your head down and following the crowd? What wonderful things would you bring to our world if you let go of your fears? Take some time to reflect on what it would be like to have the courage that Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi had. It was Mandela who said: "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Is it possible that deep down we are all brave and courageous; that we have the capacity to do great things. I truly believe so.

While it is much easier to be a follower rather than a leader, choosing to be a leader feels much more rewarding in the end. We all have the capacity to lead if we choose to do so. In order to join the ranks of Columbus and Edison we must first let go of the opinions and judgements of others. Be prepared to stick to your own beliefs no matter what others say. Then, we must find within us the faith and trust needed to not give up. Even the possibility of falling off the end of the earth did not keep Columbus from setting sail to find the New World. Edison too demonstrated determination and faith, by trying thousands of times to accomplish what he'd set out to do.

I truly believe that the courage to stand alone on the road less travelled rarely comes from our mind, but instead from some place deep within. Often those who have had the courage to stand alone have done things that were totally contrary to accepted beliefs and even logic itself. And yet they persevered with great resolve, always believing strongly in what they were doing. I am sure many of them did have doubts along the way, as most of us do, but they did not allow any trepidation to get in their way. They forged ahead as something deep within spurred them on. I truly believe we all possess that inner knowing, drive or passion. If only we could connect to that part of ourselves and, as Mandela said, "conquered the fear that holds us back," I'm sure it would be much more crowded on the road less travelled.

When you do connect with your inner passion you will find that what you are doing may take effort, but it will not feel onerous or hard. You do it because you want to, not because you have to. There is something that drives you onward despite the obstacles that get in your way. How else could Edison have tried so many different ways to invent the light bulb before achieving success?  That inner passion is the deep sense of knowing that often transcends our logical mind. It is what will allow us to remain diligently focused on what we believe in and not give up until we succeed. But so many people don't ever find that inner spark, or if they do they ignore it or let their mind talk them out of doing something about it. And, as Wayne Dyer says: "they die with their music still in them." Don't be one of those people. Find your music and play it loudly to the world.

Are you ready to muster the courage to stand alone and move forward toward what you know is right for you? Are you ready to ignore anyone who says: "you're crazy," "you'll never do that," "you don't have what it takes," "what makes you think you can succeed where others have failed," "you're not smart enough to do that," or "that's never been done before"? Where would we be if the great innovators, discoverers and inventors would have listened to the naysayers and fear-mongers? What would we be living without today, if it wasn't for the few who had the courage to stand alone on the road less traveled? How many amazing and unthinkable things could be accomplished if more of us had the courage to join them on that road?