Courage to Continue on...

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts"
 - Winston Churchill

Wise words from the original "British Bulldog". It is after-all so much easier to give up on life when facing crisis and too many choose this path. They might look to crime or suicide, but these aren't examples of courage but rather cowardice. Sometimes just living this life takes a sense of courage.

Take for example, those who recover from financial crisis rising like a phoenix from the ashes, these are indeed examples of having the "courage to continue". There are also stories of inspiring heroics which don't involve the battlefield. Volunteers who go into ghettos or 3rd world countries to give hope to the helpless are just as heroic as any veteran of a war. And, these people don't do this for any kind of monetary reward, they do this simply because it is the right thing to do, inspiring others to "continue on". People who stand on principles risking arrest to defend civil rights they may already enjoy themselves, but haven't been granted to others, are also pure examples of bravery.

In life we're meant to continue this good fight. In fact we learn and grow through our failures, as such, this sense of courage can also apply to one's potential. And, it's just not possible to actualize this true potential without the will to try and to continue on when all else fails. As Churchill stated, while success is never final, failure is never fatal as long as we continue on, for even the darkest hour only has 60 minutes.

One must continue to go beyond...

"There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them" - Bruce Lee.

This quote is typically used to push one's physical limitations, a workout mantra if you will, but this can be applied to life in general. The initial problem we have as individuals is in the fact we do place limits on ourselves, and with this, we unknowingly handicap ourselves. This self perpetuating limiting practice comes from our very own environment, stemming either from our parents, mentors, or friendships. It is a rare occasion when an individual breaks away from this self limiting prophecy, but this does happen.

For example, in professional basketball we had Muggsy Bogues a multiple All-Star appearance player and perhaps the finest point guard in the history of his team the Charlotte Hornets. He's all of 5 feet, 3 inches tall (and that's probably adding a couple of inches) and yet he excelled in a sport dominated by men more than a full foot taller. One can imagine how often he was told due to his height how the plateau of playing in the NBA was one he simply could not obtain, and yet, he did anyway.

Another example, there's a ongoing stereotype (in some cases, a running joke) about high-school and college drop outs and how they usually end up working at some part time position barely making it through life. "Surely these people are limited, they were unable to complete their degree or diploma" some, well actually, most in our society would probably say. And yet, history is littered with success stories of these drop outs. A recent example of a college drop out turned success story would be Mark Zuckerberg one of the founders and CEO of Facebook.

The fact of the matter relates directly to this one simple truth, anything is possible if you truly put your mind to it. Even the blind "can see" reading through braille and experiencing life through their other heightened senses, the deaf "can hear" through sensations of vibrations and communication though reading lips and sign language. There are truly no limitations only plateaus as Bruce Lee mentioned. There are no excuses only reasons not to try. And, if we fail, we get back up dust ourselves off and try again. Life is meant to be a struggle one which we are meant to overcome and where we must not be satisfied with obtaining a certain plateau of success but to always seek out new ways to continue to go beyond.