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Greetings!
My mother had a beautiful tea cup collection. Each time my father traveled, he would bring back a cup and saucer for her. She would carefully pack them away in the china cabinet, bringing them out for use only for special events. After my parents passed away, I began exploring that vast china cabinet. And I found lots of beautiful things, some I recognized and some I'd never seen before, all carefully packed awaiting a special occasion. I decided it was a shame to only use these things a couple of times during a life time, and have been systematically trotting them out whenever I feel like it (event or not). I want to use them for the purpose for which they were created.
Courage is analogous to this anecdote. Some believe that courage is a special term, reserved for special occasions and only for those who have achieved an A+ on a finite check list of conditions. Big and brawny? Check. Steel jawed? Check. Unwavering glare? Check. Bravely facing the enemy? Check. Granted, the warriors on the battle fields of life who meet those descriptions could certainly be classified as courageous. But every one of us is required to do things in our lives, both personal and professional, that call upon a good measure of courage. And most of us couldn't even manage a C- on the imaginary check list.
But guess what? Just as we all have different finger prints, we all possess different characteristics that can help us be courageous. You may have something I don't have and vice versa, yet each of us can face life's challenges adequately equipped. Are you a good listener, a good writer, patient, flexible, organized, detail-oriented, creative? All of these qualities could be adapted and put to use in a situation requiring courage. The secret is to know what you've got before you try to use it. It's no different than trying to follow a recipe without knowing what ingredients you have in your pantry.
Don't think for a second that just because you haven't won a gold medal, saved a drowning child or overcome an enormous adversity that you aren't or can't be courageous. Take yours out of the china cabinet, dust it off and display it proudly when you need to! | |
Sincerely,
Judy Pearson
www.judithlpearson.com |
| Where's Judy? |
| The place is Boston, Mass., the date is August 21, the event is the fabulous Women's Leadership Forum (WOLF). I'll be bringing the Power of Courage to the women of the Best Buy Corporation and I can't wait! |
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Call to Courage
No women competed in the first modern Olympics of 1896. Organizer Baron Pierre de Coubertin felt they would be "uninteresting and unaesthetic."
By 1900, however, 19 courageous women participated, with Margaret Abbott becoming the first American woman to win a medal. She won that year's gold in golf. Women were added to the swimming competition in 1912, although America banned its female athletes from competing in events without long skirts.
Probably the mother of American female Olympic competition was Babe Didrikson Zarharias. She won golds in hurdles and javelin in 1932, and was ultimately named by Guinness as the most versatile female athlete of all time. Another example of the power of women's courage! | |
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