Courage:
"Is it not strange
that we fear most that which never happens? That we destroy our
initiative by the fear of defeat, when, in reality, defeat is a most useful
tonic and should be accepted as such." Hill
"Courage is the standing army of the soul which keeps it
from conquest, pillage, and slavery." Henry Van Dyke
"To believe in the heroic makes heroes." Disraeli
What is courage?
It's stepping onto the stage even though you've never spoken to anyone other
than your family and friends. It's moving far away from family, friends, the
familiar, and even though you don't know why you do so, you do know you'll
remain dead inside if you don't. It's planning on moving away even further in a
year just because you know you can't lie to yourself anymore and you've got to
follow your dream. It's quitting your "dream" because you've discovered a more
effective way of touching people. It's getting married with the commitment to
overcome yourself and give to those whose lives depend on you.
Accountability:
"You can not become a power in you community nor achieve
enduring success in any worthy undertaking until you become big enough to blame
yourself for your own mistakes and reverses." Hill
"A man is half whipped the minute he begins to feel sorry
for himself, or to spin an alibi with which he would explain away defeat." Hill
"If you can run a losing race without blaming your loss on
someone else, you have bright prospects of success further down the road in
life." Hill
Do you speak large? Puff your chest out to lift your frail
ego? Drive a fancy car merely to compensate for lack in your life? Are you
doing OK, but at night something gnaws at your very soul? Even though you've
obtained some success, you still can't quite make it to "I'm Good"?
What's missing? Where have you gone wrong? Why for every
step forward you take two back?
In times of difficulty, see what you say, how you act, who
you blame, what you turn to. The solution to your problem, like always, lies
within.
"Seek the council of men who will tell you the truth about
yourself, even if it hurts to hear it. Mere commendation will not bring the
proof you need." Hill
"No position in life can be secure and no achievement can be permanent unless
built on truth and justice." Hill
"Every word a man writes, and every act in which he
indulges, and every word he utters serves as unescapable evidence of the nature
of that which is deeply imbedded in his own heart, a confession he cannot
disavow." Hill
Salvation for the
weak:
But remember that you are not alone. Help comes to you in
many forms. Sometimes it is sent to you in a response to an email. A comment
made by a friend. An unexpected visit by one with just the right words. An
unexpected smile of worth and grace from a stranger.
It may come in a card, a letter, a hug. It may even come in
the form of cash: money you forgot you lent repaid, an overdue refund, some
bills under your couch.
If you watch, if you believe, you will find a greater
presence watching over you. Looking out for your best interest. And don't
forget that "in your best interest" means taking it on the chin once in a while-or
more often for some-to learn an important lesson that helps humble you, reach
out to others, or provide a meaty meal of substance for your soul.
But that presence is always there.
Believe.
"Amidst all the mysteries by which we are surrounded, no
thing is more certain then that we are in the presence of an infinite and
eternal supply from which all things proceed" Herbert Spencer
"Love, beauty, joy and worship are forever building, tearing
down and rebuilding the foundation of each man's soul." Hill
But if you want that presence there more than not, reach
out. It will follow you more often and with greater intensity.
"No man can become a great leader of men unless he has the
milk of human kindness in his own heart, and leads by suggestion and kindness
rather than by force." Hill
"In every soul
there has been deposited the seed of a great future, but that seed will never
germinate, much less grow to maturity, except through the rendering of useful
service." Hill.
