Key Messages
The Power Of Courage: How To Think About Fear And Achieve Greatness
Courage is a virtue that goes beyond just achieving great things – it’s also an integral part of living a good life.
Courage looks like different things to different people, but in Courage is Calling, author Julia Macfarlane sets out to teach us what fearlessness looks like and how we can demonstrate it ourselves.
From stories of social activism to the reflection on fear, Macfarlane provides inspiring examples drawn from both ancient and modern history that demonstrate how one can be courageous in their daily lives.
Macfarlane explains why thinking about our fears can actually be beneficial and teaches us how ancient Greek statesman overcame fear with logic.
Through her narrative, she also shows readers how courage can achieve incredible things – even within just a minutes time.
Hercules Teaches Us That Courage Means Choosing The Harder Path
When one speaks of courage, they typically come up with two types: moral courage and physical courage.
Moral courage is associated with those who bravely stand up and speak their truth, regardless of public opinion or risk to their reputation.
Meanwhile, physical courage is often given as an example of soldiers risking life and limb in service of a greater cause.
But ultimately, it all boils down to one thing: the willingness to face hardship and danger despite fear.
This can be seen in the myth of Hercules at the crossroads; presented with a safe route free from struggle or pain versus one fraught with peril but with glory as reward, the choice he made was ultimately a courageous one – willingly embracing hardship for his own gain.
From this we can glean that courage always requires risk – not just of life and limb, but perhaps more importantly of pride, self-image or perceived comfort.
In order to attain heroic greatness, real courage must entail putting oneself in danger by willingly choosing the hard path rather than taking the easy way out.
Courage Comes From Overcoming Our Fears With The Help Of Logic
Fear can be a debilitating force, stopping us from being courageous.
But courage doesn’t mean that risks and dangers fail to register with us.
It means vocalizing our fears, understanding them, and then mastering them all the same.
This is where Courage is Calling comes in to play.
In this book, the ancient Greek figure of Pericles helps explain how logic can help us overcome our fears.
For example, when Pericles’ men were terrorized by a storm he used two rocks and banged them together which was an omen of sorts to show his troops there was nothing to fear all along!
By using simple logic he was able to explain the cause of thunder as simply another collision like between the two rocks that he held up for everyone to see!
Pericles had pointed out that unexamined fears can be more intimidating than they should be and that one can often conquer fear by exploring it rationally and breaking it down into components.
In other words, there’s power in controlling fear through logical thought processes instead of letting fear control you!
Confront Your Fears To Contain Their Power: How Fear Setting And Premeditation Of Evils Can Help Us Cope
Courage is Calling by Tim Ferriss encourages us to look our fears in the eye, rather than averting our gaze and pretending they don’t exist.
We can’t conquer our fears if we’re not comfortable acknowledging them and understanding their scope.
Vagueness just amplifies fear, which is why it is important to get to know your phobias and see them for what they are.
The Stoics were proponents of this idea centuries ago as well.
Known as premeditatio malorum, Seneca advocated bringing undesirable events to mind so that any potential misfortunes that life throws our way don’t take us by surprise.
By familiarizing yourself with these fears beforehand, you can lessen their power over you.
John D.
Rockefeller practiced something similar throughout his career; he would often ponder the possibility that all his hard work could go down the drain if “the oil fields gave out.” This forward-thinking allowed him remain alert on his feet and make huge profits during market panics throughout the nineteenth century.
Courage Comes In Small Steps: Start Where You Can And Aim Big
When it comes to taking courageous actions, many people think that it always has to be a grand display of bravery which requires great and heroic deeds.
This isn’t the case, however – courage can begin with small steps.
Take it from Aristotle, who said that virtues are acquired day by day.
We become fighters and harpists with time and practice; we become brave by doing brave things, one step at a time.
This was certainly true for Florence Nightingale when she considered taking steps in her medical career as an English gentlewoman in the nineteenth century – becoming a nurse was not considered proper for someone of her status.
Yet she took the bold step anyway, though she started small: committing to working in a hospital for only one summer.
Sometimes Just A Minute Of Courage Is All You Need To Take Action
When it comes to acts of courage, they can often be accomplished in less than a minute.
This was certainly the case when Martin Luther King Jr.
was arrested in Atlanta and put in state prison where he was due to face a four-month sentence on a chain gang.
His wife, Coretta Scott King, wanted desperately to free her husband, so she sought help from two presidential candidates – John F.
Kennedy and Richard Nixon – both of whom had something to gain by winning Black voters.
But while Nixon did not provide assistance, Kennedy acted quickly and decisively.
He made phone calls to the governor of Georgia as well as King’s own wife, and even had his brother Robert call the Alabama judge who ultimately released King from the state prison.
This pivotal act of courage saved King’s life, gave Kennedy the victory during the tight election battle between him and Nixon, and proved that it only takes a few short yet courageous actions to enact real change in just a matter of minutes!
Stanley Levinson: A Model Of Selfless Heroism
In the Courage is Calling book, Stanley Levinson’s response to JFK’s request that he be cut from Martin Luther King’s civil-rights campaign illustrates the heroically selfless act of courage used for others’ benefit.
Instead of protesting or pleading his innocence, he chose to voluntarily step away from both a cause and a figure he was devoted to.
Stanley Levinson displayed the kind of heroism that makes sacrifices for other people and ultimately makes the team stronger and better.
It was a courageous act without any glory seeking or self-aggrandizement.
His example can teach us all about selfless courage – something we should strive for in our own lives if we want to make an impact on those around us.
Wrap Up
In Courage is Calling, readers learn that courage means undergoing hardship voluntarily and risking one’s reputation, livelihood, or well-being for the sake of a higher purpose.
It doesn’t require you to never experience fear — logic or facing fears can help when it comes to managing it.
The acts of courage don’t always have to be grand gestures; small steps in the right direction are still brave.
Additionally, heroes are defined by the sacrifices they make for others and the courage they have to speak out boldly and honestly.
Finally, remember to be prepared to wander in the wilderness — courageous people may not always be welcomed by their societies in the present day.
