Ep 253 | Courage - The NDO Core Value Word #3

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Let's get into it. Today we're going to talk about core value word number 3. Now, if you've been listening at least for the past few weeks and you're a member of the No Days Off Nation, you know that we are doing a series on core value words. Core value word number 1 was grit, and word number 2 was integrity. Today we're going to talk about word number 3, and that word is going to be courage. Now, these core value words, just to remind you, core values are the root beliefs that a person or an organization or a family— the root beliefs from which these things operate. These are our guiding principles. So grit, we talked about the word grit and what it means to be gritty or have grit, you know, grittiness. We talked about integrity, what someone who has high integrity looks like. Today we're going to talk about courage. I believe this to be another core value word, one that's important to the No Days Off Nation. What is courage? Courage is the ability to confront fear, to confront pain, to face danger, to face uncertainty, and to be resilient and determined to overcome. It involves taking action in the face of adversity, even when it's difficult or risky to do so. Now, courage is not the absence of fear. Courageous people have fear. No question. Courage is not the absence of fear. It's rather the willingness to act despite fear. It requires a sense of conviction. It requires intestinal fortitude, moral strength, and a willingness to really stand up for what you believe is right. Even in the face of opposition, even in the face of criticism. Now, courage can show up in a number of different forms. Maybe it's physical bravery in the face of danger, which we're going to tell a story around that here in a moment. Maybe it's just moral courage in speaking out against injustice or standing up for your beliefs. At the end of the day, courage is about summoning inner strength. And, and in doing so allows you to face challenges and allows you to face obstacles head on. Regardless of the outcome. Having courage, being courageous is one of the root beliefs of the members of the No Days Off Nation. I want to talk about courage through the story, or the, I should say, memory of, of one of my most fam— most favorite athletes, maybe most favorite people of all time. And his name was Pat Tillman. I was thinking about Pat actually today prior to recording because I signed up for the Pat Tillman race, which we have here in Phoenix every year. It's about 30,000+ people. It's a 4.2-mile run, uh, 4.2, which is 42, which was his football number when he played at Arizona State. If you don't know Pat Tillman, let me tell you a little bit about him. Because Pat Tillman to me personifies courage. Pat Tillman, uh, decided to leave behind an NFL career, an NFL football career, a career that was blossoming, one that he was becoming, or some would even argue was already the best at his position. He had many years and many dollars in front of him, but he left behind that career in the NFL to enlist in the US Army immediately after 9/11, after the 9/11 attacks. He gave up his career and became a US Army Ranger. That act alone demonstrated considerable bravery. It demonstrated a strong sense of duty. And it really showcased courage despite the risks involved, despite all that he was giving up. He took this courageous step in the face of danger and uncertainty, and he voluntarily put himself in harm's way to serve his country because he believed in our country. He believed— he has a great quote where he says something to the effect of, And I still haven't even— I haven't done anything. Meaning that there are people that have come before him, his father, his grandfather, and just, just brave and courageous people before him. And just because he had registered or just because he had enlisted, I should say, he hadn't done a damn thing yet, but he already had, right? He already gave up this amazing career. That was courageous in and of itself, but then to put himself in harm's way to serve his country, risk his life. And ultimately die on the field was incredible courage. He was deployed to Afghanistan and he led, he led a group of troops on, on many a courageous mission. Unfortunately, he lost his life. But I think if you were to ask him if he would ever do it over again, right, like if you change anything, Without question, I think the courageous step to leave his career and pursue what he was most passionate about, pursue what he was calling, what, you know, his duty, face that fear, you know, be willing to act, just take the step of announcing, I'm leaving my career and act, have that sort of conviction, that sort of moral strength. And most importantly, in Pat's case, this willingness to stand up for what is right. Even when he had all this opposition and criticism, there are a lot of people saying, why would anybody give up the fame and fortune that came with this NFL career? Pat believed it was right, the right thing to do. So his courage, it manifested in a number of different forms, from just the physical bravery in the face of danger to speaking out against You know, the critics and standing up for what he believed. His courage involves summoning this inner strength. That is a courageous individual. So today, you know, this core value word number 3, courage. I'd like to ask you, how are you demonstrating courage? How are you showing up in terms of demonstrating courage? How are you modeling this behavior? How are you modeling this core value to those that you lead, maybe in the office, maybe at your home, right? How are you teaching others to be courageous, to confront fear and pain and danger and uncertainty or intimidation by being strong and resilient and determined? How are you sharing that message? How are you teaching? How are you demonstrating it to others? Where in your world do you have to show up a bit more courageous? And you can start taking steps right now to do so. Where do you have to stand up for what you believe and face obstacles and face challenges? Just go one foot in front of the other, just one foot in front of the other, one step. I think we could all reflect on this because there are times we've all probably demonstrated a degree of courage that we're proud of. And there's probably times in our life, maybe even a moment right now where we need to summon a bit more courage and be willing to act, even though we may feel a bit paralyzed or have some degree of fear. Recognize that, that courage, a core value, a root belief from which we operate from, that's who, that's who listens to the No Days Off podcast. That's who participates in this, in this movement. Courageous individuals. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.