Today, most of us remember those moments fondly. We did not participate to
achieve perfection or to prove that we were
the best. In fact, many of us doubted our
abilities. Yet, what mattered was the willingness to step forward and create something
despite the uncertainty.
That willingness reflects one of the most
underrated qualities in life: courage.
As we enter the business and corporate
world, we realise that courage often determines whether our abilities are ever seen by
others. A person may possess confidence,
intelligence, or talent, but without courage, those qualities remain hidden. It takes
courage to face rejection, to withstand the
judgement of others, and to begin something
new without complete certainty. After all, if
everything were certain, courage would not
be necessary.
Courage Anchored in Preparation
Courage also shapes our ability to take
risks. Entrepreneurs, for example, rarely
wait for perfect clarity before starting. They
move ahead despite uncertainty. However, this does not mean they act blindly.
Most successful entrepreneurs look for
two basic foundations before they begin their journey: first, whether they are
capable enough to deliver value, and second, whether they have a fallback plan
if things do not work out as expected.
Once these basics are in place, they
move forward while remaining
prepared for rejection, failure,
criticism, and even success.
At the same time, equanimity is equally important
for an entrepreneur. It keeps
a person grounded. Without
inner balance, one can easily get distracted by short-term
temptations and low-hanging opportunities that pull attention away
from meaningful goals. Many promising
journeys fail not because of lack of capability, but because the individual loses focus
midway.
Ultimately, life rewards not only talent or
intelligence, but the courage to act despite
uncertainty and the balance to remain committed to one’s deeper purpose.
One real life example is how Steve Jobs
lived as a true entrepreneur. Jobs was removed from the very company he had built
– Apple. For others it might look an utter
failure, but for him it was opportunity to
start something new. He faced this rejection
with grace and started new ventures like
NeXT and invested in Pixar when animation
technology was still highly uncertain. He
has shown courage and his risk taking ability
along with a future vision. At that stage, there
was no guarantee of success. He faced criticism, financial pressure, and doubts from the
industry, but continued because he believed
in his vision more than he feared failure.
Years later, Apple acquired NeXT, and
Steve Jobs returned to lead Apple again.
That’s like the best moment an entrepreneur can desire in his lifetime. Under his
leadership, products like the iPhone, iPad,
and MacBook transformed the technology
industry.
Steve Jobs is by all means the most intelligent person, but is one of the most courageous
and visionary entrepreneurs the world has
seen till date.
The best colleges these days are considered those that help their students get into
the best paying companies. Over time, the
best colleges will be the ones can invite industry investors to fund their students’ pilot
projects, and handhold them on their entrepreneurial journey.
If you feel a spark of entrepreneurship,
a spark of creator, then do start the journey.
Because good things are sooner the better.