“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to forge ahead in spite of it”.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
My Understanding of this Statement
This statement was made by Franklin D. Roosevelt, a former President of America. What I understand by this statement is that being brave does not mean that one is not fearful, but that one is determined that he or she will overcome the fear (s) and achieve his or her goals. One has to make a choice to be successful, in spite of all of their fears. One must see the problems he or she faces as opportunities to do well.
This statement and an Entrepreneur
The statement is important to an entrepreneurial mindset because an entrepreneur may entertain a lot of fears that could prevent him or her from achieving his or her goals. An entrepreneur may have several kinds of fears such as:
- Fear of start-up,
- Fear of failure of after start-up,
- Fear of having no safety net among others.
Fear of start-up
Most entrepreneurs are afraid of starting up. They often need to overcome inertia, which is a resistance to motion when there is no external force. An example of external force that can create fear of start-up for an entrepreneur is funding. Lack of funding will stop an entrepreneur from realizing his goal.
Fear of failure of after start-up
Another fear that an entrepreneur may have is the fear of failure after start-up. The fear that a business may fail could stop an entrepreneur from getting into that business. Even if an entrepreneur has a start-up money, he may be worried that if he starts the business, the business may not succeed. He or she may entertain the fear of rejection of himself or herself and business’ products. The entrepreneur may be fearful that no one will buy his products. He or she may also be fearful of the competitors that has selling the product as his or her products.
Fear of having no safety net among others
An entrepreneur may also have the fear of safety net (that is while trying to build his or her business where will monthly income to sustain himself or herself come from.) A new business start-up takes time to grow and be established. During the time of growth of the business, there will be no income for the entrepreneur. This means that an entrepreneur may face the problem of how to meet his or her day to day expenses as well of taking care of her family mates.
Conclusion
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to forge ahead in spite of it. There will always be something to be afraid of. However, to be successful in life, one need to contront fear with:
- Courage,
- Determination, and
- Positive attitude to life
