“The opposite of courage isn’t cowardice; it is conformity.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell from his book, Beyond Talent (p. 154). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

And to really make a difference, we will need courage.

John says, “Being inactive and never leaving what is familiar may mean that you are comfortable but having the willingness to continually let go of the familiar means that you are courageous. American historian James Harvey Robinson asserted, ‘Greatness, in the last analysis, is largely due to bravery—courage in escaping from old ideas and old standards and respectable ways of doing things.’”

John goes on, “Our situation doesn’t make us; we make our situation. Our circumstances don’t have to define us; we can redefine our circumstances by our actions. At any given time, we must be willing to give up all we have in order to become all we can be. If we do that, if we are willing to leave our comfort zone and bravely keep striving, we can reach heights we thought were beyond us. We can go farther than others who possess greater talent than we do.”

He then says, “Anytime you are willing to stand up for something, someone else will be willing to take a shot at you. People who express their convictions and attempt to live them out will experience conflict from others with opposing views. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, ‘Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you, you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end, requires some of the same courage which a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men to win them.’ So should we simply keep a low profile, swallow our convictions, and keep the peace? Of course not! The opposite of courage isn’t cowardice; it is conformity. It’s not enough just to believe in something. We need to live for something. Howard Hendricks said, ‘A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for.’ You cannot really live unless there are things in your life for which you are willing to die.”

Earlier John said, “English writer and clergyman Sydney Smith asserted, ‘A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage.’ To develop and discover our talent, we need courage. The English word courage comes from the French word coeur, which means ‘heart.’ And we need to recognize that if we display courage, our hearts will be tested continually.”

So, will you let your talent and courage come out so you can make the difference that God created you to do?  Will you?

Yes, yes!