☕ saturday mornings - January 21, 2023

the power of patience, connecting to nature & why courage sucks

Tommy Dixon

Jan 21, 2023

Happy Saturday Morning!

I hope you’re having an excellent start to your weekend.

What I’ve been up to:

I've been catching up with friends since returning home. Friends are kind of like sunshine. You don't think about them much when they're not there, but when they’re around, you realize how much better your day is.
I attended my first Angel Investor Network meeting. I got to watch 3 start-ups pitch while experienced investors peppered them with questions. Picture Dragons’ Den, but less intense.
I donated blood! It's a good way to give back and reduces the risk of life-threatening diseases

Here's a recap of the most interesting ideas I've explored this week.

Pour yourself a hot beverage, cozy up & enjoy.

✍️ Quote I’m pondering:

Michael Jordan, the best basketball player of all time, on patience:

"I have something more important than courage. I have patience.
I will become what I know I am."

📚 Book passage I loved:

I know, as someone who has lived between worlds, how we have lost our connection to nature, to aliveness, to passion and freedom and joy.
Modern men and women have fallen into the numbing lure of screens and social networks and poisoned food and jobs that are meaningless. We have forgotten that life holds a unique story for us all... Something that only you can give to the world. Inside you is the wild part of you that knows what your gift, purpose, and mission are.
That part of you is wild and elusive. It cannot be captured, as it is always evolving.
To live on its trail, you must become a tracker.

― The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life by Boyd Varty

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💡 Idea from me: Courage Sucks

Saint George Defeating the Dragon (Johann Köni, 1630)

Courage sucks.

I think our society confuses what it means to be courageous. For most of my life, I envisioned courage as heroic glory. I thought it meant staring directly into fear with steely eyes and hurdling your anxious worries like an Olympian, beaming with pride.

But, I was wrong.

Courage sucks.

In a moment of courage, you don't feel a proud defiance or a resounding confidence. You feel afraid. And fear is paralyzing.

Courage, confronting a fear, is uncomfortable as anything I've experienced.

Let me tell a story.

This week, I was determined to send a follow-up email after I was turned down for an opportunity. Most of my success is due to tenacity, and I couldn't let this one get away. I wanted to try a last-ditch attempt.

I worked on the email for days.

I dug into research, repeatedly rewrote sentences, and fiddled with the wording.

Finally, after hours of work, I scheduled it to send the next morning. But, I couldn't sleep. My mind was spinning with thoughts and my heart was pounding with fear. My stomach was lurching into somersaults, akin to being whipped around on an amusement park ride. Worst-case scenarios ricocheted around in my brain like stray bullets. My nerves of titanium felt more like rubber.

I even woke up in the middle of the night, shot out of bed, and raced to my computer to delete and furiously re-type a section.

I barely slept.

Courage sucks. As Brené Brown puts it: "We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time."

I want to be brave with my life.

I know the decisions I make compound and shape my identity over time.

Each time you confront fear, you either shrink down or rise up. But, as easy as it is, I don't want to shrink down. Because then, in my mind, I'll be "someone who runs from fear," and I'll do it again and again and again.

Once you take the path of least resistance, it's hard to turn back.

You build courage by doing courageous acts.

You become confident by practice. By having a stack of undeniable proof that you are who you say you are. Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.

In short, you outwork your fear.

As scary as it is, I'm trying to choose courage. But don't let people confuse you. Courage sucks.

❓ Question for You:

What if life-changing breakthroughs are lurking behind the goals we’re too afraid to chase?

📸 Photo of the week:

A North American comic on "A map of every European City":

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