What History's Bravest Leaders Teach Us About Facing Fear Today

In an age when many from Maine to California are unhappy with the state of the world, think change is needed but fear speaking on their political convictions, we often seem lost in dark woods. When fear – loss of business, jobs, friends, or worse – rises, what is courage?

Rereading authors and biographies of leaders who shown courage, a few words are worth revisiting from those who have shown courage in their time. We can learn from them.

One of the most intrepid leaders of the past century, and consequential, was Winston Churchill. His leadership – defined by personal and political courage – confounded critics.

Wrote the British Prime Minister, in one of his 43 book-length published works, “Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it all others depend.”

If we take that as a starting point, then fortifying ourselves by stepping up, speaking up, and peacefully saying what needs staying is the beginning of wisdom.

On the more humorous side, Churchill – often criticized earlier in life for risk-taking, and for failing on many fronts, from money-making and politics to tactical decisions – offered that “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

This advice pairs well with the optimism shown by leaders who prevailed across American history – from our Founding Fathers to Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt and George Patton to Ronald Reagan, and his national security advisor, Chiarman of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Said Powell, channeling Churchill, “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”

In opening one of Churchill’s post-World War II books, the former Prime Minister advises: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Perhaps two of Churchill’s most powerful references, with direct relevance to America in this moment of uneasiness and rising division, are his personal definition of courage and his way of reacting to those who resisted his best judgement.

A master of words and also of absorbing words, he once wrote: “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” To this observer’s admittedly limited view, we are facing a crisis in this second kind of courage, and if we are to square it with the first type, we need to work harder at it – and encourage others to do so.

Finally, Churchill advised – in sync with Thomas Jefferson’s point that different views do not “break my leg” – that there is a way to exercise courage without incitement. “So long as I am acting from duty and conviction, I am indifferent to taunts and jeers,” adding with classic wit, “I think they will probably do me more good than harm.”

So, what is courage? The definition may change operationally based on the circumstances, but great leaders know of what they speak and we can and should listen – if we wish to manage this present environment to success.

For added reference, a few other thought leaders, military leaders, and political leaders are worth hearing. Wrote Mark Twain, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear,” and that includes speaking and writing,

From a stamina and resolve perspective, George Patton wrote laconically: “Courage is fear holding on a minute longer,” while references to heart among those who must hold on are common, including General Jimmy Doolittle, of the famous Doolittle Raiders in WWII, who noted “There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer,” and fittingly his entire group of Doolittle Raiders were volunteers, for a mission that killed some of them.

Finally, perhaps the words of John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, are a good closer. He saw courage as lived and passed along by example. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

In this time of division, fear of all kinds, and unresolved uncertainty, the best we can do is be leaders in our own circles, work to resolve issues, and show the kind of courage these men did in their times. Do that, and we will find our way out of the woods.